Birds in Mid-Summer
by AutumnSkyy
Summary: Spin off of Dear Mother - Rachel Dylan fell in love with Lana Winters; there was no doubt about that. In the summer of 1973, she gains the courage to ask the woman with the wounded past out for a cup of coffee and never looks back.
1. Kind of Woman

**Disclaimer** : I do now own any AHS characters or plot ideas.

 **A/N** : Hi guys! Here's the story as promised. I know I said it would be in Rachel's POV but it's not first person POV as I had originally planned, but third person limited. It just worked better for me.  
But anyway, please enjoy and let me know what you guys think! I'm really excited about this fic even though it derives from original characters and AHS itself.

Ps. Kind of Woman by Stevie Nicks played multiple times while I wrote this (hence the chapter name). Idk I just found it funny lol

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 **BIRDS IN MID SUMMER**

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 **CH 1** \- Kind of Woman

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 **1973**

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There was always something about waking up at the break of dawn that Rachel Dylan found peaceful. Perhaps it was the dim blue light that peered through the blinds or the sound of the paperboy making his route down the street. Or maybe it was the morning cold that chilled her and made her enjoy her coffee that much more.

Whichever it was, Rachel Dylan stood in the kitchen at exactly 5:15 every morning, leaning against the counter with a warm cup of coffee in her hands. The rim of the mug touched her lips. Her eyes were sleepy and her mind wasn't fully awake. She had to be at work in two hours and she didn't know what to do to fill the time. She supposed that was the downfall to being up so early but it was far better than laying in bed until the clock struck six thirty and she had to be up.

Work had become unbearable and droll in the past few months. Despite the fact that it had been quite eventful with the news coverage of Bloody Face's death (his real death) and the entire office had derailed into chaos but Rachel saw no real interest in it. Of course she worked hard all day, running from place to place, making coffee and running errands for Lou. She spent a good hour jotting down his pointless ideas and never ending rants.

Rachel knew all of that would have been bearable if _she_ were there.

It had been a little over three months since Lana Winters left Boston with her son to avoid the scandal of it all. Rachel was upset to see Lana go. She had promised to return but the months were dragging and Rachel found herself sulking the greater part of the day.

She had tried to keep herself busy by reading new books. She had started _Strangers on A Train_ by Patricia Highsmith and was enjoying it so far. Rachel had begun her book binge with _The Hobbit_ , which she much enjoyed, a few days after Lana left. Rachel found that it was just what she needed at the moment to distract herself from Lana's absence. She needed a world filled with fantasy to escape to. _The Hobbit_ then turned into _The Lord of the Rings_ andthen _To Kill a Mockingbird_ , followed by _The Big Sleep_. They varied in genre and one was much different than the last but Rachel enjoyed the immersion into the different worlds that were much more interesting than her own. Whenever she finished a book, she simply closed her eyes and picked a new one off the shelf at random. It kept her going.

Rachel yawned and ran her fingers through her messy dirty blonde hair. She had her unruly waves tied up in a messy bun.

She had dreamt of Lana again the previous night and had felt foolish for doing so but there was no denying the fact that she had enjoyed it. Rachel sighed at the thought of the older woman that had left her life rather lopsided if anything. It amazed her how quickly Lana Winters had lodged herself into her life, burrowed deep inside of her mind and her heart and refused to get out.

Rachel thought a lot about the kiss she had given her that night in the office before she went missing. When Rachel had heard the news her heart imploded. However, upon hearing the news that Lana and her son had been found, she felt the heaviest burden lifted off her shoulders and had not held back when she saw her again.

Sometimes it didn't matter that Lana was gone as long as she was safe. However, that kiss had been an utter landslide, unleashing multiple feelings. Rachel had been so terrified. She remembered the last time she expressed her feelings for another woman, it didn't even very well and it cost Rachel her job, her home, her friends and her family. But she had been relieved when Lana's reaction wasn't to shutter in complete horror like the other woman had. Lana was so different and she made Rachel feel so normal. Amongst other things, of course.

Rachel pulled her mind from the memory; it was so many years ago and she was still so young when it happened. It almost felt like some kind of nightmare forever lodged in the back of her mind, occasionally resurfacing to put her back in her place. Of course, Rachel did try to reassure herself. "It's the 70s now!" She'd tell herself. People are coming out left and right. Fathers are staying at home and mothers are getting jobs. There's no reason to hide. Alas, fear always won and she remained silent and smiled politely when a male coworker asked her out to lunch or dinner. She hated it. Having to lie about who she really was.

Rachel set the mug down on the counter. It had too much sugar for her taste and she blamed her half asleep mind for the extra spoonful. It surely wasn't the kind of sugar Rachel needed.

It was then Rachel heard a meow and a loud purr and looked down to see her Calico cat, Doyle rubbing herself against her legs. She purred loud like a motor.

"Good morning, Doyle." Rachel said fondly and reached up into the cabinets to pull out a can of cat food. Doyle jumped onto the counter, continuing to purr loudly.

"Doyle, no." Rachel took her off the counter and filled her bowl.

After what she so called breakfast, Rachel dressed herself and got ready for work. She didn't think it would hurt to arrive at the office earlier than expected. At least she could have Lou's coffee ready as soon as he arrived. The man was punctual, after all.

.

That mid-morning, Rachel sat in Lou's office with a pad and pen in her grasp. She scribbled away aimlessly as Lou paced back and forth across the office raging on about personal opinions regarding politics and the media. He was in the middle of another one of his rants and there was no stopping him. He went on and on making Rachel jot down all of his notes to hear them later.

Rachel had been in the middle of an important task when he sped by and ordered her to meet him in his office. By the determined look in his sharp, rugged features, Rachel could tell he was about to let out the biggest rampage the office had ever seen. So she had no other option but to follow after him.

However, instead of jotting down notes on the pad with the blue pen she carried with her, Rachel was writing Lana's name in cursive across the paper with little cartoon hearts. She felt childish but boredom and daydreaming had led her to it. She felt like a teenager with a silly crush.

"And that's what real capitalism is all about, Miss Dylan!" Lou said with self righteousness as he nodded to himself, completely satisfied with the sound of his own voice. The top of his white dress shirt was unbuttoned and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

Rachel bobbed her head and bit her bottom lip in concentration as she continued to doodle. She was slowly working out the 'W' in Winters. "Mhm."

"Blood sucking lawyers and nitwit tycoons. They're like wolves. Wolves!" He continued to rant.

"Wolves." Rachel said without bothering to look at him, "Wolves often travel in packs…"

"Wolves and monsters—monsters like that state senate. Have you ever met a man with so much power yet so much stupidity? He takes the cake!"

"Mmm, cake."

"Yes! That's the spirit, Miss Dylan. Now as for totalitarianism—"

Rachel drowned out the sound of Lou's raging voice and continued to daydream about Lana. The office had been such a bore without her but it wasn't like Rachel spent much time with Lana before she left in the first place. She had been too shy to even speak to her and only did so when Lou sent for her or when she was to hand some paper work or pick up a finished article from her.

Lana had always felt out of reach to Rachel. She was so above her and Rachel just couldn't bring herself to talk to the woman. She felt so unattainable, so out of her league. Not to mention the fact that Lana was about eight years or so older than her. Just the thought left Rachel feeling numb at the fingertips.

However, she remembered the time when Lana handed her the sugar in the break room. It was Rachel's first day of work and it was the first time Lana had ever acknowledged Rachel's presence. She had been having a rough first day when Lana walked into the break room and made a cheap coffee related joke that made Rachel laugh. When she looked up, she saw that it had been Lana. She then handed her the sugar.

"Now, read it back to me." Lou's voice dug into Rachel's mind and popped her thought bubble.

She looked at Lou with vacant eyes. "What?"

"My notes, read them back to me." He stood across his grand mahogany desk.

"Uh—" Rachel stuttered and looked down at the pad to see Lana's name surrounded by colored in hearts. "Crap…" She said under her breath.

Lou was about to speak when there was a knock on the glass door and Bern peered inside, "Mr. Graham?"

"Yes, Bern! Lovely Bern!" He went around the desk to greet Bern at the door.

Rachel quickly ripped the sheet of paper with Lana's name and crumpled it up. If Lou saw it he was sure to fire her.

"Oh, that is fabulous!" Lou boasted, "Dylan, take a break. I'll call you when I need you."

Lou exited the office after Bern and Rachel left out a sigh of relief. "Shit…that was close."

She stood and exited Lou's office as well.

…

Rachel hid the crumpled paper in her purse and then left to the break room to have her lunch before Lou called her to run another ridiculous errand or worse—finish his rants. Rachel simply wasn't in the mood.

So she slumped her way to the break room, hoping no one was there. She didn't want any company—especially not that of Felicity Hawthorne who just wouldn't shut up about her engagement. "Yes, it's a pretty diamond", Rachel had said on multiple occasions, "Yes, we've seen your fiancé before. Yes, we know he owns a vacation home in Seattle. No, I don't have a boyfriend yet."

She just wasn't in the mood to hear it.

Rachel sighed in relief when she found the break room empty to her delight. She was so pleased she went straight to the fridge with a tiny skip and dug through the lunch bags for her own lunch. Rachel muttered to herself, something about if Hanson ate her lunch one more time she'd—

"Excuse me, Miss?" Came that lovely voice Rachel hadn't been able to forget in those few months.

Rachel froze immediately. Her hand was right about to reach her lunch bag. "Coffee is four dollars." She answered without thinking, as if her mind was working on its own.

"And how much is the refill?"

Rachel stood, the bag in her grasp and turned around to meet Lana's smiling face. She looked as beautiful as the day she left. And elegant too.

Rachel tried to bite back her smile but couldn't, "Free."

Lana laughed lightly, "Hello, pretty Doll."

"Lana, you're back!" Rachel took a step forward, dropping the bag and spilling her lunch on to the break room floor. "Crap." She said under her breath and knelt down to pick it up.

Her hand reached out for her apple fruit pie when Lana reached for it first. Rachel glanced up to meet Lana's big brown eyes right before her and froze.

"Fruit pies?" Lana asked a little teasingly as she took the pie and Rachel's cheeks flushed a brilliant red.

Rachel cleared her throat and took the fruit pie from Lana, rather embarrassed. She knew she should have gone with the celery sticks instead.

Lana laughed lightly. "I didn't realize apple was your favorite."

"Well, I like strawberry too." Rachel drifted off topic and snapped herself out of it when she realized the stupidity coming out of her mouth. She quickly jumped up to her feet and Lana stood as well, a little more calmly than Rachel however.

"When did you come back?" Rachel asked.

"Just the other day." Lana answered, placing Rachel's little carton of chocolate milk on the counter. "I was supposed to come in this following Monday but I couldn't stand being away from work for too long."

"How was the vacation?"

"Lovely." Lana admitted, "It was so nice to be away from it all."

"I could imagine. And Johnny?"

"He's fine. Didn't want to come home."

"I bet. But I'm glad he had a grand time." Rachel felt herself smiling like a fool and dialed it down. She cleared her throat, "Well, I'm—I'm really glad you're finally back." She met Lana's eyes. "Really glad…"

Rachel immediately stopped herself and felt rather embarrassed all of a sudden.

But Lana only chuckled and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Rachel and giving her a hug. "I'm glad to be back too."

Rachel froze for a moment not sure how to react. But after a moment, she relaxed and closed her eyes, hugging Lana back and getting lost in her embrace. It almost felt like a dream.

When Lana pulled away, Rachel stumbled a little but caught herself.

"But tell me," Lana changed the subject as if the hug had never happened, "How've you been? I hope I didn't interrupt your lunch."

Rachel glanced down to her hands where she had the fruit pie and a squished sandwich. "Oh! Oh, no. I was just—I was just taking a break before Lou called me again." She quickly stuffed everything back into her lunch bag.

Lana noted that the brown paper bag had Rachel's name written on it and a tiny smile crossed her lips.

"At it again, is he?"

"Yes."

"And what is he rambling on about this time?"

"…I don't know." Rachel said with a small worried frown.

Lana laughed her lovely laugh and Rachel felt rather small and elated at the same time. How was it possible that someone could disarm her so? Not even the first woman she had loved had such a powerful hold on her. It really was a mystery to her.

"Well," Lana said, "I'll leave you to your break then. I have to go check on my cubicle."

Rachel suddenly felt a little panic at the thought of Lana leaving. "Are you staying for the rest of the day?" She found herself asking.

"As a matter of fact, I am. I have some details to discuss with Lou and I have to work on some articles. You know," Lana turned serious for a moment, "Bloody Face related things."

"Right." Rachel said trying not to sound disappointed or angry but the thought of that Oliver Thredson made her blood boil and not only for what he had done to Lana and Johnny but also what he had done to other countless women. It was terrible and it made her stomach twist and turn.

Luckily, it was all over.

"I won't keep you then." Rachel said.

Lana flashed her an almost playful smile that confused Rachel and alerted her at the same time. "I'll see you around then, Doll."

She turned to leave but before she did, she glanced over her shoulder, "Don't forget your cookies."

"Wait, what?" Rachel looked down to see her packet of chocolate chip cookies at her feet. She quickly picked them up but when she stood back up, Lana was gone.

Rachel held the cookies to her chest and sighed heavily. "Well, that went well…" She murmured to herself, standing alone in the break room with her lunch in her hands.

.

Rachel didn't see much of Lana throughout the rest of the day. Rachel was so nervous she couldn't even think and didn't even have lunch until later that day. However, she stayed clear of the break room and ate at her desk.

She opened her milk carton and her packet of cookies and set her apple fruit pie aside for last. She was munching on her sandwich when someone knocked on her desk and she glanced up.

"Peter!" She gasped behind her hand with a full mouth, surprised to see him.

Peter Scott, a coworker and brand new reporter, around Rachel's age, stood in front of her little desk with a grand smile. "Lunch so late?"

Rachel cleared her throat and sat her sandwich down. "Yeah, I was busy earlier."

"Right." He said with a smile, leaning against the desk slightly.

Peter Scott was a very handsome young man with dark brown hair and brilliant blue eyes. His father was from England and his mother from Colombia. Or at least Rachel remembered him saying so when he had taken her out to dinner the week before.

Peter had been very determined to take her out and had asked her on many occasions but Rachel had always declined. She had told him she simply wasn't interested in dating men from the office (or men in general but she left that out). Peter reassured her that it would be just as friends so she had finally caved.

Just then, Rachel noticed Lana walking by holding a manila folder in her hands on her way to the photocopier some three yards away. Rachel had once hated the fact that her desk was so close to the photocopier but when she realized that Lana made multiple trips to it during the day, she changed her mind.

The clunky, noisy machine was God sent.

As she made her way there, she met eyes with Rachel for the fraction of a second. They then flew to Peter and glanced away.

Rachel suddenly felt awkward.

"So listen," Peter began, "What are you doing tonight? Are you free?"

Rachel looked over at Lana from the corner of her eye. She looked busy making copies even though she was clearly in earshot of their conversation. Rachel put her attention back on Peter.

"I was just going to go home and watch Harold and Maude. It's playing on tv later tonight—" Of course Dirty Harry was also playing but she wasn't going to tell Peter that.

"Harold and Maude?" Peter laughed, "Why watch such a thing?"

Rachel frowned, a bit offended. "And why not?"

"A kid falling in love with an old lady? What kind of thing is that?"

"What? You wouldn't fall in love with an older woman?" Rachel challenged.

"Would you?" Peter argued back.

Lana ever so casually glanced over at them. Rachel could feel her eyes watching but her attention was rather focused on Peter asking her if she would date an older _woman._ She was tongue-tied.

"Man that is." Peter corrected himself, "Would you date an older man? Boy, you eat a lot of sugar, don't you?" He noticed the cookies and fruit pie on her desk.

"I'm not interested in older _men_." Rachel said, emphasizing the word "men". She was obviously flushed by Peter's teasing and pulled her treats from his view, "Anyway, why does that matter?"

Peter laughed. "I'm only kidding with you, Rach." He smiled, "So? You busy or not?"

"I told you, I'm watching Harold and—"

"Oh, you can watch that another time."

Rachel felt herself pinned against the wall and prayed for a miracle to save her.

"We can go to Lucille's again. You loved it the first time, didn't you?"

"Yes, their biscuits are quite good." She admitted and felt herself caving again.

"Then?" He pressed.

"Oh, Miss Dylan?" Came the loveliest of voices again and both Rachel and Peter looked up to see Lana standing before them. She had new copies in her hands and her chin was held up high and proud. "Lou would like you to stay later today and help him edit some articles. I hope that's quite alright." She looked from Rachel to Peter and then back to Rachel.

"Uh—ye-yes." She stuttered, "I'm on it."

Lana gave Rachel the smallest hint of a smirk and turned on her expensive heels to saunter away.

Peter frowned, obviously upset that Rachel suddenly had to stay late and work. "You should have told her you had plans for tonight."

Rachel let her glance fall, "Oh, Peter. You know I could never say no to Miss Winters." The words made her cheeks blush an even brighter red, "Besides, it's my job." She changed the subject right away.

He sighed, "That is true. Well, maybe another time then."

Rachel nodded and watched Peter return to his work across the office. Once he was gone out of eyesight, Rachel scanned the rest of the office for Lana but did not see her.

.

Later that day, when everyone was packing up and getting ready to call it a night, Peter made one last visit to Rachel's desk before he left. "It's a shame you have to work late tonight."

Rachel sighed just dreading the editing that had to be done. Not only that, she'd be stuck all night with Lou. It's not the way she wanted to spend her night. "Yes, well, it pays the bills."

Peter nodded. "Another night then."

Rachel only nodded not wanting to give him hope.

"Goodnight then." He patted her desk and was off.

"Goodnight." She said.

After Peter left, Rachel knocked on Lou's door to get started as soon as possible. The sooner she started working, the sooner she got to go home and possibly catch a part of the movie.

"Yes?" his voice came from within.

She opened the door and stepped in, "I'm here. What can I help with?"

Lou was nose deep in a few articles from some rivaling publishing companies. He glanced up from them and raised a brow. "Why, Miss Dylan, it's four o'clock, day's over."

"Yes, well, Miss Winters informed me that you need some help with editing articles?"

Lou frowned slowly, "No, I believe I don't. You go on and enjoy your evening." He smiled at her, "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow!" he then returned back to his work leaving Rachel rather confused.

She didn't argue with him and stepped out of the office, closing the door behind her.

Just as she stood there rather dumbfounded, Lana strode by her with her coat in arms. A sly smile playing along her luscious red lips. "I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Dylan." She winked at Rachel as she passed by.

Rachel's lips parted and her cheeks grew red. She barely stuttered an "Okay".

Lana was out of the office before Rachel could have another word. She had left her behind in a giddy yet confused mess. However, once Rachel realized what Lana had done, a giant grin slowly spread across her lovely face. She shook her head and laughed, returning to her desk only to collect her things and go home to watch Harold and Maude with the promise of a lovely tomorrow.


	2. Bonnie and Blythe

**Disclaimer:** I do not own AHS.

 **A/N** : Thanks for all the positive feedback, everyone! I know OC based fics aren't very popular but it makes me so happy that you all enjoyed this fic so far. Writing Rachel is so different and so uplifting. It's so nice to work with her.

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 **CH 2** \- Bonnie and Blythe

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Rachel stood in front of the blue mailbox out on the street in downtown Boston on that Tuesday morning. She held an enveloped letter in her shaky hand, debating whether or not to drop it in. She didn't see why not. After all, she had gone through all the trouble of writing the letter, buying stamps for it and going all the way into the city an hour early just to drop it off right before she went to work. There was no going back.

Rachel glanced down at the envelope. It had the names _Paul and Jane Dylan_ written on them. Rachel saddened upon reading the names of her parents. She had been meaning to write to them for so long but hadn't had the courage to do so. Whenever she closed her eyes she could still see the way her father's mouth formed around the words "ashamed" and "disgusting" while her mother remained motionless and speechless in the background.

However, it had been many years since then and Rachel yearned to know how they were doing. If they even missed her like she missed them. Probably not since they hadn't even bothered to get in contact with her. It truly was a shame.

Rachel sighed and lowered the letter, placing it into the pocket of her thin beige coat. The early summer mornings were rather fresh and bright. Only a few thin clouds hung in the sky that morning. Rachel checked both sides of the street before crossing it and made her way to work. The letter remained crumpled in her pocket.

.

It had been over a week since Lana returned to work and when she returned to work, she _really_ got to work. Rachel barely saw her stick around the office. She was always out and about snatching whatever scoop she could get her hands on and when she did return, she'd hide in her tiny cubicle and type away whatever grand story she had managed to nab. Rachel mostly remained in the background, only saying hello in the mornings and goodbye in the evenings. She wasn't sure why she had grown quite shy around Lana.

Lana was a sort of celebrity in the work place. After her second brush with that maniac, she had become quite popular—especially around some of the men. They hung around her like flies, trying to pick off anything they could. Rachel thought it was only admiration from her fellow reporters but she sat back and yearned to be amongst her too.

That morning, she sat at her desk, her cheek upon her fist as she glanced across the office to see Lana near the water cooler surrounded by Michaels, Gilberts and Collins. Word had it that Collins had invited her for dinner. Lana had declined.

The thought alone settled Rachel's worries. But how she wished to be the one to ask Lana out and receive a "Yes". It would be just heavenly.

Rachel sighed with the laziest smile as she stared at the older woman from across the office.

In that moment, Lou approached her with a stack of papers and an empty mug in his other hand. "Dylan, I—" he paused when he caught Rachel's dreamy expression and followed her eyes to where Lana stood on the far end of the office. She was discussing a topic with Michaels who just couldn't comprehend the women's movements that were beginning to rise.

Loud raised a brow and dropped the stack of papers on Rachel's desk causing her to jump.

"Miss Dylan, I know Mr. Collins is quite the handsome man but I would appreciate it if you made me some copies. Oh—and refill my mug." He set his mug down.

"Hmm? What? Collins?" Rachel looked over at the well dressed man with the comb over who folded his sleeves up to his elbows and made a face, "Oh…oh! Oh, no." She began to laugh at how ridiculous that sounded, "No, no, no…No! I mean, no. What? No."

Lou raised a brow at her.

Rachel caught his expression, wiped her smile clean and cleared her throat. "Double sugar?"

"Double sugar." Lou confirmed and returned to his office.

Rachel sighed. "Right." She got up from her desk and took the five steps to the photocopier to make copies for Lou. When the photocopier got going, she made her way to the breakroom to make Lou's coffee.

"Two sugars, Miss Dylan." Rachel mimicked Lou's voice as she made his coffee, "No cream, Miss Dylan." She stirred the black, sugared coffee, "Real men don't drink cream." She lowered her voice to match his exaggerated tone, "Creams for hippies and communists. Har-har-har."

"Someone doesn't like cream, does she?"

Rachel jumped with a startle at the sound of her voice. She dropped the spoon and it clinked loudly upon the counter, spilling drops of coffee along with it. Rachel turned around to see her.

"Lana." She gasped, extremely embarrassed, "I—uh…" She bit her bottom lip.

Lana laughed lightly and walked up to her.

"Sorry." Rachel's cheeks grew red, "I didn't know anyone was—"

"Listening?"

"Right." Rachel admitted.

But Lana smiled, no less. "It's fine but for the record, I think you do a great Lou."

"Thanks." Rachel said.

Lana went to the counter next to Rachel and made her own coffee. "We always bump into one another here, don't we?" She said without looking at Rachel.

Rachel commenced to clean up the mess she had made. "It seems so."

"You don't sound too enthused about it?"

Rachel glanced up to meet Lana's glance. "No, I am. I mean, I don't mind it—wow, that sounded bad. I meant to say—"

"Calm down, Miss Dylan," Lana gave her that playful smile that made Rachel's knees weak, "I understand what you meant."

Rachel took in a deep breath and exhaled. She had wanted to ask Lana out for lunch on their day off. She knew Lana didn't work on Sundays and she didn't either. And according to Bob in the editorial staff, Sunday was going to be a lovely, sunny day.

Rachel turned slightly to face Lana, "Miss Winters—"

"Miss Winters? Back to that are we?"

"Right." She smiled with a little laugh that Lana responded to with a smile, "Lana, I was just wondering. Not that I was wondering about it for a long time. It actually just occurred to me—"

Lana turned to face her as well as she stirred a spoon in her mug. Her expression calm and patient as Rachel rambled on nervously.

"It occurred that well, I like tea— I mean, that's not what I wanted to say. I _know_ I like tea, that's not." She frowned rather frustrated with herself a paused. She exhaled. "I was wondering if you'd—"

"There you are!" Lou's voice boomed through the break room and Rachel became stiff. "Powerful minds need their fuel, Miss Rachel Wyatt Dylan."

Lana looked to greet him.

Lou paused, "Winters, I thought you were out on the field."

"Yes, well, I thought I'd come for something sweet before I left." She gave Rachel a quick side glance and then looked back to Lou.

"Ah, very well then." He took the mug of coffee Rachel had prepared and took a drink from it. "Wyatt. Interesting name. Your mother's maiden name?"

Rachel held her hands in front of her and lowered her glance. "It's—it's my middle name." she said rather bashfully.

Both Lana and Lou raised their brows at her but Lana's expression soon turned into an amused one.

"My parents thought they were having a boy—how—how's the coffee, sir?" Rachel changed the subject right away with only a stutter or two.

"Delicious as always, Miss Dylan. And the copies?"

"Should be ready by now. I'll take them to your office." She turned to Lana and gave her a small smile, "Excuse me." and without another word exited the breakroom before she embarrassed herself further.

After Rachel placed the copies in Lou's office, she returned to her own desk and watched as Lana filed out of the breakroom with Lou at her heels. He talked ecstatically about something Lana didn't seem so keen on.

"That went perfectly well." She muttered to herself and returned to work.

.

Rachel had lunch with Peter in the break room. She let him drag on and on about his college years while she munched on her sandwich. She tuned out his voice and began to think about Lana and how she was almost able to ask her out to lunch on Sunday.

Lana didn't come back to work later that day and if she did, it was long after Rachel was gone. She went home that evening with her tail between her legs but perked up as soon as Doyle met her at the front porch of her apartment building.

"Hey, you, why are you out here?"

Doyle meowed and intertwined herself around Rachel's legs. She had been relaxing out on the porch all evening by the looks of it.

Rachel opened the front door and Doyle ran in. "Ladies first, of course." She said and followed soon after.

She made her way up the stairs to the third floor where Doyle was already waiting at their door. Apartment 13. The number had always made Rachel cringe.

Once inside, she made her way into the living and took the letter she had written to her parents and placed it upon the coffee table, looking down at it with disappointment. Even if she had sent it, they wouldn't have written back. She just knew it.

.

Rachel made dinner, which she ate on the floor of her living room as she watched The Brady Bunch and Doyle slept on the sofa behind her. She placed her dinner plate on the coffee table before her and drank some wine with her dinner. She guessed it was one perk of living alone: eating dinner wherever she pleased.

Rachel had been living by herself for quite some time. Ever since her parents kicked her out. Rachel took a drink from her red wine, her eyes on the screen, her plate only half finished.

The Brady's looked like such a happy family.

"Doyle, do you think Marcia ever kissed a girl?" She asked the cat.

Doyle only purred and rolled on her back, exposing her soft, white belly.

"You think if she did, Mr. Brady would ever kick her out?"

After a short moment, Rachel realized how ridiculous she sounded and laughed.

"You know what bothers me more? What the hell happened to their cat?"

.

After dinner, Rachel washed her dish and cleaned up after herself. She boxed the leftovers in topper wear and stacked them in the fridge. She always overcooked. It was a bad habit she had.

Doyle curled up at the foot of the bed while Rachel read a book, _The Outsiders_. As she read, her eyes glazed over and she began to think of Lana and how she had failed to ask her out for lunch.

"It can't be that hard…" She mumbled to herself. "Just ask."

She set the book aside, marking her page with a little dog-ear, turned off the light and laid back down. As she closed her eyes, Rachel slowly started to remember the face of the first woman she had felt anything for.

She remembered her pretty round face, her big green eyes and red painted lips. She remembered the way she always smelled of peppermint. Her long auburn hair and lean legs. The freckles on her cheeks and on her arms.

Rachel remembered leaning in closer and closer, softly brushing her lips against hers and then suddenly the space in front of her felt so cold.

" _What on heaven's name are you doing?!"_

The alarmed voice startled Rachel awake along with her alarm clock to discover the morning dawn beaming through her open window. She buried her face in her pillow and groaned, not ready to face the day that waited her.

.

The day started like all the others. Coffee runs, edits, photocopying, note taking, agenda making, schedule checking, more coffee runs, lunch runs, meeting reminders, and repeat.

Rachel had lunch with Pete again in the breakroom. Well actually, she had been sitting down when he decided to join her. She barely caught glimpses of Lana through out the day. Lana had caught a wonderful story and Rachel could tell she was quite excited about it. Lana always got this sparkle in her eyes whenever she dedicated herself to something. Rachel guessed that same sparkle had gotten her in trouble with Briarcliff in the first place.

Towards the end of the day, as Rachel was packing her things to get going, Peter stopped at her desk. "What are you doing Sunday?"

Rachel sighed, "Peter, I already told you. I'm not—"

"I know, I know. But it's just as friends."

"I'm busy that day." She told him as she stuffed her uneaten Twinkie treat in her purse.

"Oh, really? Doing what?" He raised a brow at her.

Rachel grew annoyed. She knew she had no plans on Sunday but she was hoping to go out with Lana that day. And if she wasn't going out with Lana then she didn't want to go out with anyone else. It was that simple.

Just in that moment, Rachel caught Lana leaving the office. If she didn't ask her then, she never would.

"I have a lunch." Rachel grabbed her bag and big Peter goodbye. Peter only shook his head and turned to gather his things.

Rachel hurried out of the office and down the hall. "Lana!" She called out to her just as they reached the elevators.

Lana frowned lightly at the sound of her name and peered out of the elevator to see Rachel running her way. She stepped forward and stopped the elevator from closing. Rachel stepped in, out of breath. The elevator doors closed behind her and began to descend.

"Are you alright?" Lana asked, worried.

Rachel caught her breath and stood straight, "Are you busy on Sunday?"

A smile slowly spread across Lana's lovely face. "No, I believe I'm not."

"Would you like to get lunch? There's this nice coffee house that has really good sandwiches and I thought—"

"I'd love to." Lana said.

Rachel froze. "What? Really?"

Lana laughed lightly, "Yes, really. Now where's this coffee house with good sandwiches?"

"On fifth and Oleander. It's called Holland's."

"Alright." Lana said just as the elevator doors opened, "Sunday. Holland's at twelve?"

Rachel grinned brightly. "Yes."

"See you then, Doll." Lana brushed her arm and exited the elevator.

Rachel stood there watching her go until the elevators doors closed. "Oh, wait!" Rachel pressed the button for the doors to open and release her. She didn't want to risk going back up and bumping into Peter.

.

Rachel Dylan went home with the biggest smile she could muster. Lana had said "yes" to her when she had said "no" to everyone else. Rachel just wanted to hug herself with the happiness of it all and when she saw Doyle waiting for her on the porch again, she picked up the cat and gave it a soft squeeze.

"She said yes!" She kissed the cat's head, between the ears. She then twirled around and laughed.

Rachel came to a complete stop when she saw the old woman from the apartment building next door watching her as she watered the potted plants on the stoop. She cleared her throat and waved at the woman. "Hi, Mrs. Hollowfax."

The woman grunted and returned to her plants.

Rachel made a face and hurriedly opened the door and went inside with Doyle in arms.

.

On that Sunday morning, Rachel rummaged through her closet bright and early to find something nice to wear. She hadn't been on a date in a very long time. She blushed at the thought of the word "date". It wasn't really a date, she told herself. It was just lunch. That was all.

Rachel dumped half of her clothes on the floor of her bedroom and upon the bed. Doyle sat on the windowsill licking her paw and cleaning her face.

"This is a disaster." Rachel stood away from her closet. She was showered and her make up was done. She couldn't get her hair to cooperate so she held it up in a ponytail and brushed her bangs in place.

She chewed her bottom lip and suddenly remembered. She reached inside her closet and brought out a mustard yellow porch swing dance skirt she had bought the week before but never put on and a white shirt with thin black stripes. She stepped back and looked at herself in the mirror.

She sighed and looked at the clock on her nightstand. "Oh my goodness, I'm going to be late!" She grabbed her purse and ran out of the room, "Bye Doyle!"

The apartment door shut behind her.

.

When Rachel arrived at Holland's, Lana was not there yet. Rachel took a seat at a small table by the window and caught her breath. She had run all the way to the coffee shop from where the taxi had dropped her off.

She waited impatiently for Lana to arrive, wiping her sweaty palms on her new skirt as she did. Her stomach was a flutter and she wondered if she smelled after the little run she had. She kept her eyes out on the cloudy day and wondered if the sun would be coming out later in the day. She didn't want some summer rain to ruin her day with Lana.

From the window, Rachel watched as a man and woman made their way down the street, hand in hand. They seemed so normal together and Rachel couldn't help to wonder why two women holding hands (or two men holding hands) couldn't look normal as well, but Rachel was never attracted to "normal". On the contrary.

Just then someone approached the small table and Rachel looked up instantly. Her eyes fell with disappointment when she saw it was only the waiter refilling her glass of iced water. He gave her a polite smile.

Rachel thanked him and looked back out the window. The waiter was probably wondering where the second person was but didn't want to comment on their tardiness. Rachel did worry about that. She began to wonder if Lana was even coming to their date. She was already over twenty minutes late but Rachel didn't really mind. She'd wait the entire day if she had to.

Perhaps Lana had forgotten they had a date that day and was off at home doing whatever it was she did on Sundays. Rachel always had it in her head that Lana did many extravagant things during her free time. Things such as sipping wine in a grand living room and listening to old records while she had a cigarette from a good brand.

Rachel became nervous all of a sudden. What if Lana had only pretended to agree to their date out of pity because she felt bad saying no? What if her tardiness was a sign of disinterest?

Rachel shook the thought aside. Of course not. Lana wasn't a cruel person. On the contrary, she had been very sweet with her, calling her "Doll" and all. Rachel simply blushed at the thought of the nickname Lana had begun to call her.

Rachel looked up, tired of her tormented thoughts and her heart fluttered as soon as she met her shinning brown eyes across the coffee house. Lana Winters's smile flashed white and brilliant as soon as she saw Rachel sitting at the small table by the window.

"Hi," Lana said as she approached her, "Sorry I'm late." She didn't give Rachel an excuse to her tardiness but Rachel didn't ask for one. Lana's presence was good enough. She was just happy she had arrived after all.

Rachel straightened her posture, completely giddy when Lana sat across from me. "It's fine." She said.

The waiter soon came and asked Lana what she wanted to drink. "Water, please."

He nodded and went off to fetch her drink.

Lana turned her focus to Rachel. She held this tiny flash of a smile and Rachel suddenly felt disarmed. Lana was such a beautiful woman and of course Rachel wanted to spit out and say it but she was sure a woman like Lana knew that she was beautiful. It must have been one of the reasons why she caught Bloody Face's eyes in the first place. Even men in the office had tried to get her attention a couple of times but Lana always shot them down. However, Rachel was now the one sitting across from her having drinks.

"I hope you weren't waiting long." Lana said.

"Not long at all." Rachel said truthfully. The wait wasn't a long one but she had been so nervous that it felt so.

Nonetheless, Rachel was happy that Lana was there with her now. She had been so glad she was able to ask out for lunch.

"How was your morning?" Rachel asked her, changing the subject.

The waiter came and placed Lana's iced water down on the table. Lana thanked him and he excused himself once again.

"It was quite lovely. I took Johnny to the library and he got his first library card."

Rachel smiled at the mention of Lana's son. Johnny was such a sweet boy and she wondered if she would get to see him again. "Was he excited?"

"Beyond. Now I'm going to spend the next few weeks hearing about all the different breeds of dogs."

Rachel laughed. She then remembered the last time she saw Johnny. It was the night they had found them on the side of the highway on their walk from Briarcliff in the middle of the night. Johnny was so exhausted and the look on his face made her heart break. She couldn't begin to imagine all the things the poor little boy had witnessed in the hands of that monster that called himself his father.

"Is he doing better?"

"Much better." Lana said with a soft look upon her face. "Anyway, the visit had me running late. He simply couldn't wait to go."

"It's totally fine. Better than my morning." Rachel remembered the mess of clothes and shoes she had left in her room and dreaded having to clean it.

After a moment, the waiter returned and took their orders. Lana took Rachel's suggestions on what was good and they ordered.

Rachel was ravenous, having skipped breakfast due to nerves, but she tried to eat slowly or at least at a normal pace.

At one point during their lunch, Rachel set her fork down and looked at Lana. She wanted to thank Lana for making the time to have lunch with her but suddenly grew shy.

"Is something the matter?" Lana asked, noticing Rachel's serious exterior.

"No," She said, "I'm just having a really good time."

"Me too." Lana agreed, "We should take a stroll through town after?"

Rachel tried to bite back her smile but couldn't. "I'd love that."

"Very well." Lana smiled too.

.

After lunch, the two women took a stroll through downtown Boston. The clouds had begun to part letting way for the sun to shine upon the lovely Sunday afternoon. Lana was awfully animated as they walked side-by-side, even thought she kept a calm front about it. Rachel on the other hand couldn't stop smiling like a fool.

They visited small shops and antique stores. Without thinking, Rachel grabbed Lana's hand and led her into an old antique shop when she had noticed something a shelf of marionettes inside. Rachel had noticed what she had done but Lana hadn't seemed to mind. Instead, Rachel made a comment on how creepy they were to which Lana laughed, "Why did you bring me to see them then?"

"I don't know." Rachel couldn't help to laugh and picked one up, dangling it about, "How disturbing are these things, though?"

Lana laughed lightly, "Don't break them now."

They strolled through the antique shop, pointing out things they each found interesting. Rachel led Lana to the back where they kept old typewriters and cameras from the early 1900s.

After they left the antique shop, they strolled by the shops on their way to the city park. They talked about almost anything but Bloody Face or the media that had flooded Lana's life in the past few months. Rachel figured Lana didn't want to talk about any of that and she didn't want to risk ruining the smile on the other woman's face.

Instead, Rachel turned to the subject of work. She asked Lana about what her plans as far as journalism were. Lana said she wanted to go back to being an on screen reporter like she had been once upon a time before she became a mother. She also said she wanted to have her own segment, for what, she didn't know yet but Rachel knew Lana definitely had the drive to do it. She was capable of doing anything she set her mind to.

"What about you?" Lana asked at one point during their conversation when they stopped at an ice cream stand and ordered two cones of vanilla ice cream.

Rachel had been quite distracted by the mere presence of Lana that she had not processed Lana's question fully, "What about me?" She looked a little lost at the question and paid for the ice creams and handed one to Lana.

The two women stepped away from the stand.

Lana laughed lightly, "Where is your head?" She mused at the younger woman.

Rachel's cheeks flushed red at the look Lana was giving her. "I'm sorry." She found herself apologizing and had some of her ice cream.

"It must be something." Lana reached over and with a finger and wiped some ice cream from the corner of Rachel's lips. Rachel froze at the sudden gesture and watched with wide eyes as Lana put her finger to her mouth and kept on walking, all while maintaining eye contact with her.

Rachel gathered herself and followed after Lana. They strolled along the park under a canopy of trees, feeling the fresh breeze that blew through the branches. In a way, it felt so normal and so familiar to Rachel. As if for a single moment, she and Lana had been walking side be side for a long time and in the eyes of the world, it was acceptable. It was _normal_.

"Thank you for coming out with me today." Rachel said out of the blue.

Lana eyed her with that bemused expression of hers that she only held for the young woman. "No need to thank me."

"I know, it's just that I know you're so busy right now and well," She sighed and smiled, "Thanks."

"You know, I'm actually quite glad you asked me out today."

"Are you?" Rachel was surprised but eager to know why.

Lana nodded. "Oh, yes. It's a nice break from all the chaos in my life lately. And between you and I, it's so nice to have an adult conversation for a change."

"Is that so?"

"Oh, very much so. If I have to discuss Star Trek one more time I'll lose my mind."

Rachel laughed even more at this. She had an adorable laugh, youthful and innocent in a way. "You don't like Star Trek?"

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just that I don't think I need every single episode to be described to me in great detail from the words of an eight year old." She laughed. "Who knew sentences had so many "and thens"."

Rachel laughed. "Johnny's such a cute kid. I'm glad that he's doing well."

"Yes, it's taken him some time to adjust but he'll be fine." Lana was silent for a moment and looked to Rachel. They had circled past the same fountain for the second time. "You don't have any children, do you?"

"Me? Children? No." Rachel answered, "I don't. But I have a niece."

Lana smiled at this new information. "You do? What's her name?"

"Her name's Lily. She should be around seven by now."

"By now?"

Rachel saddened at the thought of her little niece. "She's my older sister's kid. I haven't seen my sister in years but when Lily was born, she sent me a letter with a photo."

"And you haven't met her in person?"

"No." Rachel let her eyes fall to the ground.

"And why not?" The idea was preposterous to Lana.

Rachel could see Lana was bothered by it but she smiled weakly no less. "My family and I…well, we're not really close anymore. I—I kind of got shut out and well, going back…"

Lana reached over and placed her hand on Rachel's arm. Rachel glanced up to meet Lana's understanding expression. "I know what you mean. I've been there too."

Rachel tried to smile but she failed. "It's hard. Really hard but I guess I'm used to it now. No use in stirring the pot again."

The two continued walking and Lana asked Rachel more about her situation. Rachel didn't go into many details; all she said was that she received the letter by surprise one day from her sister with a photo of the child and a very short letter. Rachel had wanted to write back and when she finally did, she never received an answer. So she never tried again.

The two women walked well into the evening and when the sun set, they had made their way into Rachel's neighborhood and in front of her apartment. Rachel had found the evening to be so lovely that she didn't want to say goodbye.

"I had a lovely time." She admitted when they stopped in front of the porch steps.

"So did I." Lana smiled that famous smile of her that made Rachel's knees shake and her legs go weak. It was unfair to have such a lovely smile. It should have been illegal, Rachel thought.

Rachel glanced down, waiting for Lana to say her goodbyes. She didn't want the night to end but Lana probably had better things to do on the rest of her Sunday night. However, she was quite surprised that Lana hadn't said her goodbyes right away or even earlier that day. There had been many opportunities for her to have done so, such as after lunch for instance, or after their walk through the park. There had been no reason for Lana to even walk her home.

Instead of saying goodbye, Lana continued to gaze down at Rachel, being a few inches taller and the heels she currently wore caused her to almost tower over the young woman, but not by much.

"What are you thinking?" Lana broke the silence between the two.

Rachel glanced to meet her eyes and couldn't find her voice. Lana's brown orbs were pensive and filled with serious thought.

Lana smiled in response when Rachel didn't answer right away, "You're precious, you know that?"

Rachel stuttered nervously, "Oh, I don't know about that." She brushed her arm with a hand.

"That boy Peter." Lana said, "Is he a close friend of yours?"

Rachel's gaze shot back at Lana. This time Lana didn't look so amused as she had been before and her expression became a little more serious. As if the mention of Peter had bothered her.

"He's just a colleague, really."

"He sure asks you out a lot for being just a colleague."

Rachel frowned lightly. Was Lana jealous? No, she thought, that would be impossible.

Rachel laughed in that way she did when she became uncomfortable. She realized what she was doing and stopped herself. "Peter means well but I don't see him more than just a colleague. Besides…his type is not really my cup of tea…"

Lana's smile returned at her words. "Good."

"Good?" Rachel was a bit confused as to what Lana had meant by that.

Lana looked ahead of her and raised her arm to catch someone's attention. Rachel turned around to see a taxi coming their way. She grew sad all of a sudden.

"You should stay away from the men at the office." Lana said, glancing back at her, "They're no good for you."

Rachel wanted to ask Lana what she thought was good for her but before she could, Lana caressed her face, right along her jawline.

"I'll see you later, Pretty Doll."

"G- goodnight." Rachel said almost without breath as she watched Lana get into the cab and drive away.

Slowly, Rachel placed her hand on her face where Lana's fingers had once been. The sensation was heavenly.

"Wow." The word fell through her lips like drool.

She raised her hand to wave goodbye until the cab turned the corner and was out of sight, leaving Rachel standing there, wishing Lana had never left. That woman was an enigma.


	3. Honey

**Disclaimer:** I do not own AHS

 **A/N:** Thanks for the awesome feedback, everyone! I love writing this story so much. After working on It's a Wonderful Life, it lifts my spirits haha

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 **CH 3** \- Honey

.

The letter Rachel had written to her parents remained on her coffee table, forgotten. She hadn't even thought twice about it, too preoccupied with her lunch and stroll with Lana Winters on Sunday. The day had been so heavenly she hadn't wanted it to end. However, she knew it had to and she found that having to say goodbye to Lana left her feeling rather empty. It was a strange feeling and Rachel was still learning to cope with it. Somehow, she managed.

The Monday after their date, Lana entered the office and bid Rachel a good morning with a smile that left Rachel feeling giddy for the rest of the day. She didn't even minded all the notes Lou had her take during his morning rants. She had written them down on the dot.

And throughout that entire week, whenever Rachel saw Lana, the other woman would smile and greet her. Such simple things made Rachel's day. Not even Peter's continuous pleas to take her out bothered her. She only smiled and gave him a mild excuse. She had laundry to do or she was visiting her grandmother. Rachel's grandmother lived in Maine and Rachel hadn't seen her in over five years but Peter didn't need to know that.

That Thursday evening, Rachel was packing her things to go home when someone stopped at her desk. Rachel was struggling with a stack of papers and didn't' look to see who it was but had a hunch.

"Peter, I already told you, I don't want to go fishing, I—" She looked up to see a very amused Lana standing where Peter usually did. The older woman looked at her with a raised, questioning brow.

"Oh, Lana!" She gasped, "I thought—I thought you were someone…someone else." She cleared her throat. "Sorry."

Lana flashed her a smile no less, "Well, since you're not going fishing with Peter, would you like to accompany me out for a stroll on Saturday?"

Rachel's jaw dropped and for a moment she thought she had hallucinated the entire thing. Probably she had been daydreaming like she always did when it came to the other woman, so Lana's words didn't process right away.

Lana stared back at her, those pristine brows raising in question again, waiting for her answer.

"Well?"

"Yes." Rachel blurted, "I'd love to."

Lana flashed a grin so bright it made Rachel's knees wobble. "Great. I'll pick you up at your place then?"

"Yes," Rachel said more calmly, "That sounds great. At what time?"

"Noon, on the dot."

"Okay— wait, do you need my address?"

Lana looked over her shoulder before she left, "No. I remember the way." And with that and nothing else, Lana left for the day.

Rachel sat back down at her desk chair, placing her elbow upon the wooden desk and resting her cheek upon her palm. She watched Lana go, feeling light and heavenly, forgetting that she had to go home as well.

.

That Saturday, Lana was at Rachel's door at exactly noon, on the dot. Rachel had overslept, too nervous to sleep the night before and scrambled to get ready when she realized it was 11:15 and she hadn't showered. She showered, dressed quickly in a casual olive green sun dress with buttons and a polo collar. It had been the first think she ripped out of the closet and threw on. She left her hair down, not having the time to do anything with it.

When she opened the door, there stood Lana, as beautiful as always.

"Good afternoon." She said, smiling at Rachel's flushed cheeks.

"Good afternoon." Rachel replied.

The two women walked out of the apartment building and hopped into Lana's lavish car and drove to downtown where they had lunch at a quaint little restaurant. Lana couldn't contain her laughter as Rachel told her all the ridiculous things Lou had her do through out the day on a regular basis. Rachel had slowly begun to feel comfortable around Lana, not that she hadn't felt comfortable before but her feelings for the woman often left her nervous and self-conscious. However, sitting across from her in that restaurant, having lunch, really calmed her and let herself open up.

Rachel asked Lana about Johnny, Lana told her he was spending the day at Kit's house with the children. Rachel smiled upon this; she hadn't seen Mr. Walker in quite a while and said she hoped he was doing well.

"Maybe you'd like to come with us to visit him one day?" Lana said.

Rachel was surprised that she had asked but smiled, no less. "I'd really like that."

When the waitress placed the check on the table, Rachel brought her purse out but Lana told her to put it away, she wouldn't have Rachel waste a dime. Rachel insisted but Lana was stubborn and got her way in the end.

After they left the restaurant, Lana and Rachel strolled through the park again. Rachel didn't quite mind it. She'd go wherever Lana wanted to. The two women walked side by side with ease. Rachel would often steal glances at Lana and smile to herself. She didn't smile _just_ because Lana was beautiful and because she liked her, Rachel smiled because Lana was kind to her, especially after she had kissed her all those months ago. Lana hadn't been disgusted and she hadn't shunned her like all the others had. Lana understood her. Lana was just like her.

It was what Rachel had wanted. Someone to just listen and understand.

She didn't even pay attention to all the other people that passed them by. She only had eyes for Lana Winters. And she listened intently as Lana talked about her trip with Johnny. Rachel could tell just by the way Lana talked about the boy that she adored him. Rachel really admired that about Lana. How she loved her son despite how he had been conceived. Rachel had thought about it on multiple occasions and didn't know how Lana had mustered up the strength and courage to keep going on in life. Rachel knew that if she were in her position, she probably wouldn't have handled it so well.

"But enough of me, what about you?" Lana glanced at Rachel.

Rachel took a moment to recollect her thoughts. She hadn't been up to much or anything, "Me? Oh, well, just the usual. Running errands for Lou, making his coffee."

"That's not all you do, is it?" Lana frowned lightly. She knew Rachel's job was more than making coffee.

"Of course not. Paper work mostly. Once in a while, when Lou's too hung over, I'll help him edit some articles." Rachel walked with her hands behind her back like a young adolescent girl would.

Lana chuckled. "He should be getting you coffee."

Rachel laughed, finding Lana's joke pretty ironic. She did often feel like she did the majority of Lou's work for him.

Lana settled her eyes on Rachel and kept them there. "You have a lovely laugh."

Rachel almost choked on her own laughter and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Whatever for?"

Rachel didn't answer, too embarrassed to say why. She couldn't tell Lana that she was usually a very intelligent young woman but her mere presence made her babble like a child.

Lana looked away and laughed lightly, "You're a silly girl, Miss Dylan."

They walked in silence for a moment, enjoying one another's company and listening to the chirping of the tiny, chubby sparrows up on the canopy above them. Children rode by on their bikes, ringing their bells to signal their coming. An old man walked his little dog and a young teen couple walked by holding hands.

Rachel felt eyes watching her and glanced up to see Lana observing her. She became nervous.

"Your hair is down today." Lana noted.

"Oh, yes. I didn't have time to fix it." Rachel ran a finger through her dark golden hair. It smelled of coconuts from the new shampoo she had purchased the week before.

"It looks lovely down." Lana commented, "Of course I like when you have it up. You can see more of your pretty face."

Rachel's eyes widened and accidentally bumped into the teenage boy, holding hands with his girlfriend. "Oh, sorry." She apologized to him.

The teenager only shrugged and kept on walking.

Lana laughed. "Relax, Miss Dylan."

Rachel pouted slightly, awfully embarrassed but she relaxed. "You know, you don't have to keep calling me that."

"What? Miss Dylan?"

"Yes. After all, you don't like it when I call you Miss Winters."

Lana nodded. "That is a very good point, Rachel." She smiled when she said her name.

Rachel did too.

They continued to walk.

"So, you live alone?" Lana asked at one point.

"No." Rachel answered and felt Lana's eyes on her instantly.

"With a friend—perhaps?" Lana's tone became a little strained and low.

"No, uh, with Doyle." Rachel averted her eyes feeling a bit silly about the whole thing even though there was no reason to feel so.

"Doyle?"

"My cat."

"Oh, so you like cats?"

"All animals really."

"You'd get along with Johnny quite well, then."

The thought that Lana wanted her to be around her son made Rachel happy. Or at least a little relieved.

Rachel asked her if Johnny had any pets to which Lana replied that he had one dog. She didn't seem so thrilled about the fact but wasn't bothered much by it since Johnny loved the dog. She only commented that she hadn't been the one to give the dog to him but didn't mention who gave it to him.

After the park, they went to the pier and walked along the edge of the railing, glancing out into the Boston harbor. Seagulls flew overhead and boats floated by.

"Are you from here, Rachel?"

"No." Rachel said, "I'm from upstate New York."

This interested Lana, "Oh, a New Yorker? Why are you here in Boston, then? Come to think of it, Miss Dylan, I don't know a lot about you. Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"About where you're from, of course. Where you were born, why you moved to Boston."

Rachel met her gaze. Lana looked genuinely interested, and so Rachel smiled, happy to oblige.

"Well, I was born in Saint Lawrence. I'm the middle child out of three. I have an older sister and a young brother. My father owns a brewery and imports foreign beer. My mother, a housewife."

"Did you have a good childhood in Saint Lawrence?"

"I like to think so. My very early childhood, at least. My parents owned a lake house on the island and we would vacation there often. When I was nine, my parents sent me to a private all girls Catholic school in Monroe. I spent a lot of time there."

"Why is that?"

"Mhm. I used to like being with the nuns more than being home."

Lana's expression grew concerned. "How come?"

Rachel shrugged, listening to the gulls as they made their way to the end of the pier and leaned against the thick, wooden railing. "They were kinder, I suppose. During the holidays, they'd let me stay up late and help them cook the meals." She smiled to herself, "They were very sweet to me. And well, after I graduated from grade school, my parents sent me to Salem Academy in North Carolina. After I graduated there, I went straight to college and well, after that, I lost touch with my family and decided to move here to Boston to start over." Her voice wavered a little.

Rachel hadn't noticed that her expression had fallen, but Lana had, however, she didn't ask her about it. Instead, after a moment of thought, Lana smiled.

"They sound lovely."

"They really were."

"Are you still in touch with them?"

"Just Sister Caroline. She was barely twenty-one when I arrived at the school at nine. She reminded me of my older sister so I used to follow her around a lot. Last I heard of her, she's still teaching at Saint Anne's Academy."

"It sounds like you have a very prestigious education, Miss Dylan." Lana teased, "Makes me wonder why you're Lou's assistant when you could be anything else you want."

Rachel nodded. "I supposed that's true. I guess I just got comfortable." She smiled sheepishly. "It's steady, I like that."

"Did you always want to be an assistant?"

Rachel shook her head, "No. To be honest I wanted to be a journalist."

"How come you didn't pursue that?"

"Well, I did, for some time. I had an internship but it…" Rachel glanced away, her expression rigid, "It didn't work out."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Lana said, earnestly.

Rachel perked up right away, not wanting to drag the conversation any deeper. "So, where did you study?"

Rachel's smile made Lana smile. "Well," Lana began and told Rachel all about her studies in college and how she got into journalism and made her way to top reporter. But not once did she touch the subject of Briarcliff.

.

It was late in the evening when Lana drove Rachel home. Rachel couldn't believe how quickly the day had gone by and like the last time, she didn't want to say goodbye so soon.

Rachel glanced out the window to her apartment building just as Lana parked the car on the side of the street. The sun was beginning to set and a few streetlights had come on.

Rachel unbuckled her seatbelt, not wanting to take time from Lana. "Thank you for today. I had a lovely time."

"So did I." Lana replied.

Silence.

"Rachel?"

"Yes?" Rachel looked from the seatbelt.

"Do you like fishing?"

Rachel raised a brow, a bit dumbfounded by Lana's question. "Fishing?"

Lana's brow was pensive and her eyes were set on Rachel, steady, waiting for a response.

"My dad used to go fishing but I never really liked it…" Rachel said softly, a bit confused, "Don't really like fish…why?"

Lana's expression remained serious. There was a slight pause on her behalf. She leaned forward, placing her hand on top of Rachel's. Rachel froze. Her eyes flew from Lana's hand to meet her tantalizing gaze. Her eyes were dark and hungry.

"Earlier today, Peter invited you fishing, or at least you mentioned it."

"Oh…" Rachel's voice went faint. "He invited me but…but I said no."

"Would you go if I asked you?" There was no trace of laughter in her voice and Rachel couldn't tell if she was joking.

"Fishing?"

"Yes. With me."

"If you asked me, yes. I would."

Silence.

"Why?" Rachel frowned lightly. "Do you want to go fishing?" She thought it odd of Lana.

Lana glanced at Rachel's lips; she sat so close to her that Rachel could smell her sweet, expensive perfume and her heart began to beat wildly against her chest. She was sure Lana could hear it.

"No." Lana answered softly. The word hung in the air, barely audible.

Lana then leaned closer, softly pressing her lips against Rachel's in a soft, brisk motion. Rachel became stiff, not sure if she was dreaming, unable to react right away but she was brought back to her senses when she felt Lana's lips begin to move along with hers for a short, sweet moment. Lana's kiss, it tasted like honey.


	4. One Of a Kind

Disclaimer: I do not own AHS. If I did, Freak Show wouldn't of had so many damn musicals.

 **A/N** : Lana is so slick lol how dare she. Thanks for the love, everyone! I noticed a few new people followed this story and I thank you, hope you are all enjoying this fic so far. I know I am.

.

 **CH 4** \- One Of a Kind

.

Lana was the first one to pull away from their delicate but unearthing kiss, leaving Rachel a little bereft and out of breath. The two women met eyes. The sun had set fully and the streetlights covered the street. Neither of them spoke. Rachel couldn't find the words and Lana was waiting for her to say something.

When Rachel didn't speak, she said, "You're not running away this time." She said it in an amused tone and Rachel remembered back months prior when she first kissed Lana in the office, after hours. She had panicked and run away.

"I would." Rachel finally found her voice, "But I can't feel my legs."

Lana stared at her until she began to laugh. Rachel did too.

"You're the sweetest thing." Lana told her, "I almost don't want to let you go tonight."

Rachel blushed profoundly at Lana's words. She was so bold. It was almost frightening.

"Then don't."

Lana leaned in closer, whispering to her, "I'd take you home right now, if I could, Miss Dylan. Don't you doubt that." Her voice was rigid, almost cold and filled with steel. She then leaned in further and pulled the door handle, opening the door for Rachel and backed away.

Rachel suddenly felt a small sense of panic flip her stomach upside down. She looked to Lana, not sure what to say.

"It's for your own good." Lana softly kissed her cheek, "Goodnight."

Silently, Rachel climbed out of the car and closed the door. "Goodnight." She told Lana through the rolled down window.

"Oh, Rachel?" Lana spoke up.

Rachel leaned down, peering through the window, "Yes?"

"I'll see you bright and early Monday."

Rachel smiled a small smile. "Okay." And stood straight. "Goodnight, Lana."

"Goodnight, Pretty Doll."

Rachel backed away from the car and made her way up the front steps of her apartment building. She looked over her shoulder to see Lana still parked there. She waved at her and Lana waved back. Rachel turned to the door and opened it. When she stepped inside and closed the door behind her, she heard Lana turn on the ignition to her car and drive away.

Rachel fell back against the door and brushed her lips with the tips of her pink-tipped fingers where her skin still tingled from the kiss. For just a moment, Rachel had been walking through the gates of heaven.

.

The following day, Rachel lay upside down on her wine red sofa, her feet in the air, her arms dangling above her, brushing against the plush rug. For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield played on the radio, filling the otherwise empty and silent apartment. Rachel lifted her hand, softly brushing her lips where Lana's had been the night before. She had been doing so as if somehow she dreamt it all. Her eyes gazed off into the distance, barely grasping if what had happened was real.

She had been reading one of her books when the thought suddenly slipped into her mind and made her roll around the sofa until she ended up in her position.

"Wow." She said, wishing Lana had never pulled away.

Doyle's face came into her vision, inches from her face and purred loudly, bringing Rachel back from her long stupor.

"What?" She asked the cat.

Doyle head butted her in the face, purring louder.

"Okay, okay," Rachel pushed the cat away and sat up on the sofa and Doyle immediately hopped on her lap. Rachel ran her hand through her tri-colored fur. "She kissed me…" She smiled to herself, "And it felt so normal."

Doyle continued to purr like a motorboat.

Rachel couldn't help but to grin like a fool. She hugged the cat, "Oh, Doyle. Please hope this doesn't go south. I couldn't stand it."

Rachel sighed heavily and leaned back against the sofa, releasing the cat. "You should have heard what she told me…"

" _I'd take you home right now, if I could, Miss Dylan. Don't doubt that."_

Lana's words spun in Rachel's mind until her stomach twirled and plopped. She wondered what indeed Lana would have done if she had taken her home that night.

She raised Doyle in the air in front of her, "What do you think she meant by that?"

Rachel's expression went serious, her brow pensive and her eyes glossed over with wandering thoughts. The possibilities were so many and by the time Rachel was done thinking about it, she was tight lipped and red in the face.

Lana had this way about her. She was so bold and sure of her words, as if she knew the reaction they would cause Rachel and Rachel began to wonder if Lana had ever been with other women. She didn't doubt it. A woman like Lana must have had at least a small handful of lovers. She was surprised that she didn't already have one.

Rachel began to wonder what kind of woman Lana was attracted to. It must have been the beautiful and lavish type of woman with a character just as strong as hers. If that was so, then she wondered why Lana had even noticed her in the first place. Rachel knew she was still so bashful and awkward. She supposed it was because Lana caused such strong, unsettling feelings within her that put her off.

There had been only two other women that Rachel had truly felt something for. One, was Sister Caroline. She was so young and pretty and as Rachel grew older in the boarding school, she began to develop a small crush on the nun that had taken her under her wing. Sister Caroline was the first woman Rachel had ever noticed and the one in where she began to realize what she really was.

Rachel leaned against the armrest of the sofa, propping her cheek on the palm of her hand. She thought of Sister Caroline for a brisk moment and then remembered the other woman, Vivian.

Sister Caroline had only been a tiny, innocent, childhood crush but Vivian, Vivian had been the first woman Rachel had felt anything as close to love and lust before. She was the woman that uprooted her life and unraveled all the feelings that caused her to lose everything.

Rachel still remembered the look on Vivian's face when she kissed her that cold autumn evening in New York when her life was still normal and her parents still loved her. Then it all came tumbling down after that single mistake of a kiss.

Rachel's fists tightened at the thought of that woman. The look of disbelief and utter disgust still made her stomach lurch and her head twirl. It made her feel ashamed.

Then Lana came to mind. Lana with her exuberant smile and her understanding gaze. Her endearing words and tantalizing kiss. Lana was so different than Vivian. Of course they were both beautiful and elegant with a strong aura about them but Lana was kind where Vivian was brash. Lana had comforted her, sought her out while Vivian only humiliated her.

Rachel crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around her shins, comparing the two women unwillingly.

She thought of the way Lana looked at her with that dazzling, white smile and shinning brown eyes. She then thought of the look of her eyes in the car the evening before. They were hard, coy and filled with a hunger Rachel had never seen. Yet she noted a sense of distance in them, fear even. As if Lana's mere touch would make Rachel break or disappear.

However, the looks Lana gave her made Rachel's heart beat and her stomach twirl. She made her feel something other than self-pity; unlike the looks Vivian had given her that day.

Rachel pushed the thought of Vivian aside, replacing her with the thought of Lana's sweet kiss. It had been so sudden and she hadn't expected it. Now she was sure Lana was just like her.

The first time she kissed Lana, she hadn't been sure. Of course there had been rumors in the office that Lana didn't fancy men but that was simply because she showed no interest in dating them, not because she truly was a lesbian. But then after she kissed her, Lana didn't react in the way Vivian had and something she had said that night made Rachel really think those weren't just rumors.

Rachel exhaled, wondering how her life had gotten that way. She remembered being seven years old, playing on the shore of the lake by her parent's lake house. She was so small and carefree with her entire life ahead of her. She had no clue the card she would be dealt later on in life. Hell, she didn't even suspect it.

Rachel used to think the thoughts she had about other girls, growing up, was a normal thing. She saw nothing wrong with it, nothing out of the ordinary. As far as she knew, thinking about kissing girls and letting her eyes wander in the locker room as a young preteen was something normal, almost curious. They were just innocent glances, nothing sexual. Just little peeks admiring the beauty of another girl as she stood there, awkward and still underdeveloped. Rachel never thought these little feelings of admiration, these stares in the classroom, those thoughts of "what would happen if I kissed her right now?" would lead up to anything but how she had been so wrong.

She just wished she had realized it sooner before she was released out into the world, innocent and naïve. Some people just always knew off the bat, what they were. Others, well, it took them just a little bit longer to catch on.

Still, as Rachel sunk deeper against her sofa, she couldn't help to wonder what else lay behind the feeling of Lana's kiss. Her lips were sweet like honey and her hair smelled of lilacs and jasmine. Her perfume was intoxicating and the feeling of her hands was warm and inviting. But Rachel was curious about everything else. She was curious about the feeling of Lana's bare arms, the feeling of her lower back and the taste of her neck.

She turned red at such bold thoughts and buried her face in her arms, embarrassed at even thinking about such things. Lana in bed was something so dangerous to think about.

Not to mention they frustrated her beyond belief. Physical starvation and lust did not mix well. However, Rachel knew she felt more for Lana than just a simple lust. She didn't want to say she loved her, but perhaps she did. Rachel was just afraid to admit it to herself. She used to think that love only blossomed from two people that had known each other for so long and had shared a relationship for years.

How could she love Lana when she wasn't with her? When she hadn't personally known her for so long? Perhaps it had been love at first sight. After all, Rachel had felt like she was hit by a bus the first time she ever saw Lana in the breakroom at work. And every time after that, it felt like cupid had taken a swing with a bat to the back of her head, instead of an arrow to her chest.

Lana left her speechless. She made her feel safe and afraid all at once. And Rachel didn't often realize it but her hands had been shaking.

.

Monday morning rolled around and Rachel was a nervous mess by the time she arrived at the office. She didn't know what to expect. A part of her was nervous and wanted to throw up and hide. Maybe she should tell Lou she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home.

Her terrible experience with Vivian was rocking her and unsettling her. She couldn't help but to feel like the same thing would happen.

Rachel was in the back room where they kept the office supplies. She leaned against the wall, trying to recollect herself. She knew she was being dramatic and over thinking the situation but she couldn't help it. It all seemed too good to be true.

Maybe what she needed was to go home. To go home and rethink things over.

"Crap." She muttered and bolted out of the room.

She had made her way through the door when someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. Rachel immediately met eyes with Lana.

"Where are you headed off to in such a hurry?" Lana asked, curious.

Rachel thought of their shared kiss the night before and stuttered to form words. She became frustrated, angry with herself for acting like a teenage girl with a silly crush. She gathered herself.

"I'm not feeing well."

"Oh?" Lana's voice was laced with skepticism. She looked over her shoulder, down the hall, where the rest of the office was. They buzzed about, unaware of what was going on down the hall.

Rachel glanced down to her wrist still in Lana's grasp. When Lana saw no one watching them, she pulled Rachel into the stock room and closed the door behind them.

"Lana, what's the matter?" Rachel grew concerned, wondering why Lana had closed the door but her imagination ran wild, barely letting her concentrate.

"Not feeling well?" Lana asked, stepping closer, "Are you sick?" She searched Rachel's eyes for an answer.

Rachel became rigid, unsure what to do with Lana so close. Before Rachel could answer, Lana laid her hand upon her cheek to test her temperature.

"You feel a bit warm." She stated with a frown.

How could she not? Rachel thought. Her entire body was a blaze with her touch.

"Are you okay?"

Rachel nodded. She smiled. "I'm fine."

Lana pulled her hand away, her gaze looking Rachel over in a way Rachel couldn't quite pinpoint. It was a look of curiosity and wonder mixed together.

"You left awfully early last night." Rachel blurted out without thinking. It seemed as if she always spoke around Lana without thinking. "You kissed me and you left."

Lana's expression softened and she took a step closer, brushing her cheek against Rachel's as she leaned into her ear, "Why? Did you miss me, Miss Dylan?" Her tone was low and playful, almost teasing.

"Yes." The word escaped Rachel's lips before her mind could form a proper answer. It was serious and short, to the point.

Lana paused for a slight second and pulled away enough to look at her. Her unrelenting brown eyes meet Rachel's nervous green ones.

"Did my kiss bother you?"

"No." Her answer was firm.

"Then what's the problem?" The question was awfully challenging but not skeptic. There was almost a flirtatious and dangerous tone to her voice.

The problem was that Rachel wanted more. How could she begin to tell her that?

Rachel glanced down to Lana's lips. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Would you be mad if I kissed you again?"

Rachel shook her head softly, meeting her gaze, "Never."

Lana lifted her hand, brushing Rachel's face, along her jaw line, her eyes searching every single one of the young woman's features. She was so close to her.

"You're awfully nervous." She mused.

"You make me nervous." Rachel admitted. Her mouth was ahead of her mind.

Lana chuckled lightly. "And why is that?"

"I'm not sure." Rachel said half honestly. "I've never met someone like you."

Not even Vivian compared to Lana. They were two very different women.

"Is that a good thing?"

"I think it is."

"Goodness, Pretty Doll."

"What?"

"You have no idea how precious you are, do you?"

Lana's question made Rachel blush. She didn't know what to say in return.

Lana dropped her hand from her face and stepped back, still looking at Rachel with that amused expression and gleaming eyes. Yet, she distanced herself in a way that confused Rachel entirely. She couldn't pinpoint Lana Winters no matter how hard she tried.

"I'd like to see you again." Lana said suddenly, optimistic and sure of herself.

"But you're seeing me now." Rachel piped up in a mousy voice, still distracted by Lana's closeness.

Lana shook her head, maintaining her smile, "No, I meant outside of here."

"I'd really like that." Rachel could feel her smile widening with excitement at the thought of spending another day with Lana.

Lana was indeed far different than Vivian.

"I'm taking Johnny to the Children's Museum. Join us?"

Rachel was awfully surprised that Lana had invited her to go out with not only herself but her son as well. "Yes. When?"

"Saturday." Lana said. "2 pm."

Rachel grinned like a schoolgirl; "I'll meet you there then."

"Good." Lana said, leaning in closely to kiss her.

They both then heard Lou's, loud, endearing (and often abrasive) voice booming down the hall in search of Rachel. "Oh, Rachel Wyatt Dylan!" He sang.

Lana paused before her lips could brush Rachel's and pulled away.

Rachel huffed, blowing air under her bangs as she made a grumpy scowl. Lou always had the worst timing.

Lana lifted Rachel's chin with her lean index finger, "Chin up, Rachel Wyatt Dylan. You'll live." And with that Lana exited the stock room, closing the door behind her and leaving Rachel standing there in a daze.

"Winters!" She heard Lou boom next, "What are you doing here?"

Rachel pressed her ear against the door, nervous that Lou would catch them.

"Last time I checked, I work here. Anyway, what are you doing screaming down the halls?"

"I'm in search of my lovely assistant. Have you seen the girl?"

"I believe I saw her in the break room. But you know, Lou, you should take it easy on Miss Dylan. If you don't treat her right, someone else might just snatch her away from you."

She heard Lana's steps go down the hall, followed by Lou's. Rachel leaned back against the door, wondering what she meant by that.

.

The rest of the day seemed to drag. Lana left the office in search of some leads regarding the tax frauds of one of Boston's most popular socialites. She didn't seem awfully keen on the story but she was glad to be out on the field.

Rachel lulled around the office for the greater part of the day. Lou was locked in his office, door closed, working on a model plane he had received in the mail. Rachel was glad for she had the rest of the evening to herself.

Peter came in from the field with a grand smile and hung around Rachel's desk. Rachel didn't seem to mind his company, Peter meant well. He talked excitedly about his fishing trip with his brother.

"Wish you could have gone." He looked up at her with those kind eyes of his.

"Yeah, well, fishing's not my thing." Rachel said with a little shrug, knowing that there was only one person who could manage to drag her out on a little boat in the middle of a lake.

"Maybe next time."

"Maybe."

.

The rest of the week seemed to drag on by. Lana told her "Hello" every morning and "Goodbye" every evening (if she wasn't out on the field). On Wednesday of that week, Lana found Rachel in the breakroom in a delighted conversation with Patty Donahue, one of the editors.

Patty, a bubbly red head, laughed at whatever conversation she and Rachel were having. Lana strode into the breakroom with casual ease, shooting Rachel a side-glance with the darling smile of hers and gave her a wink.

Rachel stopped talking mid sentence and stuttered on her words. She glanced away, losing her train of thought. Lana left the breakroom without a word, only her confident walk and lingering smile.

On Thursday, Lana was out on the field all day and Rachel missed her but she kept busy with work. Lou had come in a terrible mood and asked Rachel to help him edit through the articles of the week. Rachel liked the work and the day went by before she knew it.

On Friday evening, Rachel stayed late to make copies of a few HR forms regarding safety in the workplace. Anna Calling from HR had left on an emergency and Lou had asked Rachel to do the task. She didn't mind, not having anything better to do on that Friday evening but wait until Saturday afternoon to go to the Children's Museum.

Lana had been at the office that morning but left to follow another lead. She had overheard her tell Lou she was a paragraph away from closing the win.

Rachel had thought a lot about their interaction in the stock room. Lana had been awfully flirtatious in the most casual and almost unnoticeable ways. She was smooth with her actions and sly with her words. She had the slickest innuendos Rachel had heard and she didn't doubt that's how Lana had kept her sexuality a secret for so long.

Rachel gathered her purse, hung it over her shoulder and exited the office. She bumped into someone as she stepped out of the door, not watching where she was going.

"Careful there, Pretty Doll."

That voice. That heavenly voice.

"Lana." Rachel was quite surprised but happy no less, "Oh, I'm sorry." She blurted out for bumping into her.

"You're here at an odd hour." Lana commented, reaching out to brush a loose strand of hair that had become undone from Rachel's ponytail, and tucked it behind her ear.

The small gesture made Rachel smile, no less. She liked the little things Lana did, like the tucking of loose strands of hair or the reassuring squeeze of an arm.

"I stayed behind to make some copies for Anna."

"Well, that was mighty nice of you."

Rachel shrugged with that impish smile of hers. "It was just a little favor. I don't mind it."

Lana looked ahead to the empty office behind them. "Is everyone gone?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact—"

Rachel was cut short when Lana kissed her again. Lana's kiss was different than the last; it was soft and gentle, delicate in its own way but just as loving and just as sweet.

When she pulled away, Rachel slowly opened her eyes. "—They all left before four…" she finished her previous sentence.

Lana chuckled lightly, brushing Rachel's cheek. "I've been waiting all week to do that."

"All week?" Rachel asked out of breath, "Why didn't you do it sooner?"

Lana laughed again. "Silly girl."

.

Rachel and Lana walked side by side out of the building into the late Boston evening. Rachel had been telling Lana about the more than normal day at the office. They stepped out into the street and faced one another.

"So, will you still be joining us tomorrow?" Lana asked.

Rachel grinned, "Yes, of course."

Lana was awfully glad to hear it. "Good. I told Johnny you'd be joining us and he seems awfully happy about it."

"Does he?" Rachel asked, surprised.

"Yes." Lana said with a smile, "He's been telling me for weeks that I need to make friends."

Rachel laughed at this. "At least he's looking out for you."

"That's true."

Rachel's smile softened. She glanced out into the street where cars drove by and people hurried along. Saying goodbye to Lana was always a little disarming.

"Well," Lana spoke up, "I won't take up anymore of your time."

"Oh, you could never do that." Rachel frowned, "As a matter of fact, I have _too_ much time. Time I don't really have anything to do in."

Lana laughed, "I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Rachel Wyatt Dylan." She said teasingly and stepped away.

"Yes, tomorrow." Rachel turned in the opposite direction where she had parked her car. She brought out her keys and unlocked it. Lana called out to her before she stepped inside.

"Oh, Rachel?"

"Yes?" Rachel glanced up to see Lana a few yards away.

"Don't be late." She called out, that dazzling smile still shinning.

Rachel felt herself go warm inside with pure excitement. "I won't."


	5. A Day On the Moon

**Disclaimer:** I do not own AHS

 **A/N** : I am sooo happy you guys love this fic and especially Rachel herself. Writing well-loved characters is what I live for.  
 **P.S.** I've never been to the children's museum in Boston so I'm just making their exhibits up from other museums I've been to lol

 **P.P.S.** I'm sorry I've been updating this story so often, I just can't help writing it all the time! Also, I'm trying to get as much in before I start fall semester. This semester is going to kill me.

.

 **CH 5** \- A Day On the Moon

.

The day was bright and cool; parents were lead to the entrance of the museum by excited children. Older teenagers followed behind their parents, hands in their pockets, sulking all the way to the entrance.

Rachel stood by the ticket booth, waiting. She had made sure to get up early that morning and get ready with time. She had put her hair up in a ponytail, remembering that Lana liked that it showed more of her pretty face. The thought had made Rachel fuss and blush in front of the mirror, as she got ready.

She wore black high-waist jeans and a cream-colored blouse, tucked in, finding that a casual attire would suit a trip to the museum much better. She stood, nervously waiting for Lana and Johnny to arrive. She hadn't seen Johnny in a long time and wasn't sure what Lana had told the boy about her relationship with Rachel.

Come to think about it, Rachel didn't even know what her relationship with Lana was as of yet. So far they had only gone on a few dates and had kissed a couple of times. Rachel knew that didn't mean they were official but if it was going somewhere, she wished she knew. However, Lana had invited her to spend the day with her and her son and that was pretty special. Nevertheless, she wondered if Johnny knew about what was blossoming between his mother and herself. Johnny knew his mother was a lesbian but if he had put two and two together was another thing.

Rachel rocked back and forth on her shoes, nervously biting her bottom lip, her hands in front of her, holding her purse. She slowly began to drift off into her thoughts, distracted by random thoughts that had nothing to do with her current situation.

"Miss Dylan, you made it." The sweet voice was like an anchor, bringing Rachel back from anywhere she had ventured off to. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked to see Lana before her.

Rachel's smile acted on its own. "Lana, hi." She then looked to Lana's side where young Johnny stood. He had grown taller since the last time she had seen him. "Hi, Johnny. It's very nice to see you again."

Lana placed her hand on Johnny's shoulder, smiling softly at him.

"Hi." He said a bit shyly but politely.

"He's been wanting me to bring him here for a long while now so I finally caved." She placed her hand on his head, strumming her fingers through his dark hair.

Johnny remained quiet, averting his glance from Rachel and his mother. Hands shoved in his pocket, he looked a bit embarrassed by his mother's words. Rachel smiled at Johnny, no less, and then looked at Lana.

"Thanks again for inviting me. I hope I'm not intruding."

"Oh, no." Lana said, "Not at all. Right Johnny?"

Johnny only nodded in agreement.

"Well, are you ready?" Lana asked Rachel.

"Yes."

They purchased their tickets and entered the museum. Johnny seemed awfully excited. Grabbing Lana by the hand and dragging her to the map of the museum that was placed along the wall to direct visitors in the right path.

Rachel ambled behind them, smiling softly as she watched Lana with her son.

"Where to first?" Lana asked the boy.

"The dinosaurs." Johnny answered, pointing at the right exhibit. He took Lana's hand again and dragged her, "This way!"

"Okay, okay, but slow down. The bones will still be there by the time we get there." She glanced over her shoulder to Rachel.

"Ready?"

"Always." Rachel followed after them.

The dinosaur exhibit was filled with children crawling and poking around. A large Stegosaurus skeleton was placed in the middle of the exhibit. Children leaned against the small stage it stood upon, looking up with big gleaming eyes. Johnny let go of Lana's hand and ran to it, making way through the small crowd of children his age and younger.

"He seems to like dinosaurs, a lot." Rachel commented, standing next to Lana.

"He does. They're his favorite." Lana kept her eyes on Johnny.

"Mom, look!" He turned around, pointing up at the dinosaur.

The small crowd of children dispersed and Lana and Rachel joined Johnny's side, each standing at his side so he stood between them.

"It's a Stegosaurus, Mom." He told Lana excitedly, "It lived like 150 million years ago."

Lana looked at the massive skeleton over. "And what did this one eat?"

"Plants, Mom." He told her, "It's a herbivore." He then turned to look at Rachel, "Do you like dinosaurs."

"Of course." She answered him with a smile. Johnny seemed to be a bit shy in her presence, as if he was still debating if she was okay in his book after all.

"What's your favorite?"

"Mmm, the triceratops."

"Cool." He said, brightening up a bit, "Those are neat."

Rachel chuckled, happy that her answer had satisfied the boy.

Lana looked to Rachel with that tiny smirk of hers, "I never pegged you for a dinosaur fanatic, Miss Dylan."

Rachel laughed nervously, "Well, I don't think the fascination ever leaves us."

Johnny dragged Lana by the hand around the entire exhibit. Pointing things out to her and Rachel as well. Rachel would join in on his conversations and share facts she knew about the things they saw in the exhibit. Johnny would smile brightly when he knew about the things she was mentioning and would continue the discussion in an excited manner, thrilled that someone else was interested in the things he liked. Lana seemed less keen to the things in the room. She liked the dinosaurs to some degree but wasn't thrilled about their simple facts like Johnny and Rachel were, nonetheless, she humored her son and asked him more about the things he liked.

Rachel noted this about Lana. No matter how boring or disinteresting she found a subject, she was always enthusiastic when Johnny showed any interest in it. She'd ask him more about the subject and listen to him as he talked excitedly and rapidly about it. Sometimes, during his little rants, she would brush his hair to the side or fix his glasses for him. Johnny never seemed to mind and only continued to talk on and on.

"And then what?" She said when Johnny was telling her about all the different theories there were about dinosaur extinction.

"Well, some people say there was a giant meteor that got pulled into earth's gravitation and came tumbling down really, really fast and then—"

Rachel laughed lightly at how enthusiastic he was about it all.

"He could write a book about it," Lana told Rachel on the side and turned back to Johnny. "Well, Johnny boy, what do you think happened?"

"Mmm," Johnny pondered the thought. "I don't think the meteor killed _all_ of the dinosaurs. I think it made the earth start to change a lot and the cotenants began to move and the climates changed too and a lot of the dinosaurs couldn't adapt so they died and the ones that did evolved."

Lana leaned down slightly to caress his cheek. "I think that's exactly what happened." She smiled proudly at him.

Johnny beamed and turned to the next exhibit: a little jungle display with a small group of tiny reptilian looking creatures. He leaned against the rail to get a better look at them.

"He's a very smart boy." Rachel said when Lana stood straight.

"Yes, he really is very bright." Lana said with that proud smile Rachel had noted.

The two women walked side by side at ease as they followed Johnny out of the dinosaur exhibit and into the space exhibit.

"Don't wander off too far, Johnny!" Lana called after him when he ran off to check out a model of a space ship that hung from the ceiling towards the back of the room.

The space exhibit was awfully big and the ceiling was higher. There was a large solar system hanging from the middle of the ceiling, above them in bright, brilliant colors. On the left side of the room there was a replica of the moon with photographs about the first moon landing and other facts about it.

Lana and Rachel were instantly drawn to it. Rachel inspected the moon replica as Lana inspected Rachel.

"It's so beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes, very beautiful."

Rachel felt Lana's eyes on her and turned to meet her gaze. "What?" She gave Lana a half smile.

Lana chuckled, "Nothing, just admiring is all."

Rachel pressed her lips together, "The moon's over there." She pointed at it.

Lana laughed, "That's not what I'm interested in."

Rachel frowned lightly, not realizing what Lana meant right away. Her eyes then widened and she blushed, "Oh, Lana." She glanced away.

Lana looked over her shoulder to see Johnny playing in a tub of imitation "moon sand". She then scooted closer to Rachel, sure that none of the adults were watching them.

"Oh, Lana what?"

"You say the most disarming things." Rachel continued to look away, too shy all of a sudden to look at Lana.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, it's just—it's just sometimes I don't know what to say." She met Lana's soft and calm gaze.

"Calm down, Miss Dylan. Don't be so nervous."

"Rachel, come look!" Johnny ran over to them and grabbed Rachel by the hand and lead her away to a little solar system one could move into motion with the spinning of a handle.

Rachel followed Johnny willingly, sharing a smile with Lana as she followed after them. Rachel could see the boy begin to open up more and more with her through out the course of their visit.

After, Johnny showed them to a door that lead them down a pitch-dark corridor and into a darker room with a dim light.

"Johnny, where are you taking us?" Lana asked.

"Just watch."

Rachel felt rather nervous walking in the dark. She took a big step forward and bumped against Lana.

"Sorry." She muttered.

"Careful, Doll." Lana said softly and took Rachel's hand in hers, leading her through the darkness.

Rachel's heart skipped a beat at the feeling of Lana's fingers intertwined around hers. Their hands fit so perfectly together. She wished Lana didn't have to let go at some point.

Finally, Johnny led them to the room with the soft light. The two women stepped inside and looked above them to see a hologram of the Milky Way. The soft light beaming off of its thousands of little stars was the only light in the room but not enough to pave their way through the almost empty and otherwise, dark room.

"Oh, wow." Rachel glanced up at the ceiling, utterly amazed. She tightened her hold on Lana's hand, stepping closer to her.

"You can say that again, Miss Dylan." Lana said.

"Wow." Rachel repeated, eyes still on the ceiling.

Lana chuckled lightly at her, leaning closer for no one could see them in the dark. She rested her forehead against Rachel's temple, breathing in the young woman's lovely scent.

Rachel could feel Lana so close to her and her heart began to beat rapidly but having her so close in the darkness, in the presence of space, time felt infinite.

Rachel slightly turned, her forehead brushing against Lana's, their lips an inch from each other.

"Aren't you afraid someone will see?" Lana whispered.

"Lana, it's pitch dark in here." Rachel whispered back, "No one can see…"

Lana leaned in slightly as if her answer had eased her. Her lips about to meet Rachel's in the dark.

"Isn't it cool?" Johnny's voice brought the two women back from their senses. Lana stepped away from Rachel and placed her hands on Johnny's shoulders. She could barely make out his silhouette under the soft light of the Milky Way as he stood in front of them, unaware of what was happening between Rachel and his mother.

"It's wonderful, Johnny boy." Lana reassured him.

"Very cool." Rachel agreed, softly ruffling Johnny's hair.

After the dark room, they went to another exhibit where there were taxidermy animals. Lana wasn't so fond of that exhibit and so they didn't linger much. After that, they had lunch out in the garden of the museum where there was a snack bar.

Rachel engaged Johnny in a very interesting conversation about dinosaurs that had possibly evolved into animals. The two dove into their discussion, leaving Lana on the sidelines. She didn't mind much whatsoever. Rachel could tell Lana must have had many conversations just like that one with Johnny before. The look on her face said it all. However, when Johnny brought her into the conversation, she put in her thoughts about the topic, joining them in their conversation.

After lunch, they ventured through the rest of the museum and by the time they were done, it was past six and the museum was soon to close. Rachel followed Johnny and Lana out through the exit and into the front quad of the museum. They had visited the gift shop just before they left. Lana had bought Johnny a toy space ship and bought a stuffed Triceratops for herself.

They stopped outside, in the middle of the quad. Johnny ran off with his space ship, flying it around as Lana and Rachel faced one another.

"I had such a lovely time." Rachel said.

"Me too. Thank you for coming with us."

"Oh, no, thank _you_ for inviting me." Rachel brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Lana smiled and reached into the gift bag and brought out the stuffed green and yellow Triceratops. She handed it to Rachel. "For you."

"For me?" Rachel asked as she took the adorable, little stuffed dinosaur. It was about a foot long with floppy limbs so she could give him a good hug.

Lana smiled, "Yes. I remember you mention they were your favorite."

Rachel hugged the dinosaur to her chest. "They are. Thank you." She beamed, excited like a little girl.

Lana chuckled at Rachel's reaction. "Well you are very welcome, Doll."

Rachel looked down to the dinosaur, happy to have it and even happier that it had been Lana the one to give it to her.

"I'd hate for you to have to see me all the time on your days off, but would you like to come over tomorrow?"

"Lana, I'd love to see you every day, if I could."

Lana chuckled. "We do work together."

"Oh, well, outside of work too."

"So would you like to come over?"

Rachel nodded calmly. "Yes."

Lana grinned. "You never cease to amaze me, Miss Dylan."

.

After Rachel bid Lana and Johnny goodbye, she headed to her car and drove home with the stuffed triceratops buckled in the passenger seat next to her. When she arrived home, Doyle was waiting for her in the living room, curled on the top of the recliner. She jumped off when Rachel opened the door and meowed ferociously, demanding to be fed.

That night, Rachel lay in bed, holding the triceratops in the air above her. She watched its adorable little face and twirled it from one side to the other. She then remembered Lana's eyes and slowly lowered the dinosaur to her chest and hugged it close. The feeling of their fingers intertwined together flew into her mind, followed by the feeling of Lana so close to her in the constellation room. The feeling of her body and the scent of her perfume lingered so powerfully in her memories and Rachel slowly began to close her eyes with Lana as the last beautiful image in her head before she dozed off.

.

A loud, rapid knock woke Rachel some time past midnight. She sat up with a jolt, her hair a mess, and looked around, confused and afraid.

"What? What is that?" She asked in hazy confusion with still sleepy eyes.

There was a pause and the knocking continued. Rachel gathered her senses and realized that someone was knocking on the door. She pushed the blankets off and stood from the bed, peering out of her bedroom. The knocking continued again, softer this time.

Rachel grew afraid, not knowing who could possibly be knocking at her door at such an hour. She went to her kitchen and retrieved a small, round pan from her cupboards and went to the front door. She looked through the peephole but the person's back was to the door.

Rachel gripped on tightly to the pan; she hadn't realized that she was down to nothing but her underwear and a loose shirt. With her free hand, she gripped the doorknob, turned it and pulled the door open.

Rachel froze as soon as the person turned around to meet her gaze. It was Lana.

"Lana?" Rachel asked confused and utterly surprised, lowering the pan and stepping out into the doorway, "What are you doing here?"

Lana looked a bit frazzled and flushed. As if something had bothered her and she raced her way to Rachel's. For what reasons, Rachel couldn't guess. Alas, there was no time to question why Lana Winters was at her front door sometime past midnight.

"Is everything alright?" She pressed, utterly concerned for Lana's sake.

But Lana just kept her eyes locked on Rachel's lips. "I couldn't wait till tomorrow." She stepped forward and cupped Rachel's face in her hands, kissing her lips. Rachel froze for a moment but returned the kiss.

At the feeling of Rachel's lips moving against her own so willingly, so passionately, Lana pushed the young woman back into the apartment and shut the door behind her.


	6. Blue Velvet

**Disclaimer:** I don't own AHS,

 **A/N:** I couldn't sleep and was awfully restless so I wrote this chapter right up!

And oh my gosh, I was laughing at some of your guys' reviews concerning Johnny's where abouts because when I wrote the scene where Lana appears at Rachel's door step, I stopped myself mid-sentence and thought out loud to myself, "Wait, who the hell is watching Johnny?!" lol

Also, inmyvictoryy, when you mentioned that the scene with Lana and Rachel at the moon exhibit reminded you of the Moon Song from Her I almost wanted to cry! I love that song sooo much, it's so beautiful and imagining it with those two made me gush, ugh. Anyway, I'll stop rambling.

-AS

.

 **CH 6** \- Blue Velvet

.

Rachel fell back against her bed as Lana perched herself on top of her and continued to kiss her feverishly as if she had been deprived of human contact for years.

"Mmm, Lana—" Rachel spoke between hungry kisses, "Is everything okay?" She was awfully concerned of the way Lana had just appeared on her door step in the middle of the night without any warning.

"Yes." She breathed against her ear; her lips made their way down Rachel's neck.

"Where's Johnny?" Rachel worried. She was sure Lana hadn't left him on his own.

"I let him spend the night with his friend down the street." She continued to kiss Rachel down to her collarbones. Her hands went up Rachel's back.

"Is he okay?"

Lana pulled away, "Goodness, are you always this chatty?"

Rachel frowned softly. "Sorry." She mumbled.

Lana leaned down and kissed her lips. "I couldn't stop thinking about you after we left."

"Really?" Rachel smiled like a giddy child.

Lana chuckled. "Really."

She kissed her again, softly biting Rachel's bottom lip, giving it a light tug. Rachel felt her stomach flip and her hands clench tightly together. Her toes curled at the excitement that surged through her. Kissing Lana was always so heavenly and now there she was, lying on top of her in her bed. Rachel couldn't believe it. Maybe she was dreaming. Maybe Lana wasn't really there. Maybe it was just another sexually frustrated dream ready to break her heart and disappoint her upon waking.

"What's this?" Lana reached under Rachel and pulled out the stuffed triceratops she had given her at the museum.

Rachel propped up on her elbows. "It's my dinosaur."

Lana raised a brow, "You sleep with it?" She asked teasingly, a clear smile spreading across her lips.

Rachel frowned and yanked the dinosaur from Lana's hand, awfully embarrassed that she had found it in bed with her. "…Maybe."

"You're too precious to be real." She kissed her again before Rachel could speak.

Rachel didn't argue and continued to kiss Lana and didn't stop her when Lana began to take off her shirt, tossing it aside. Then suddenly, Lana stopped.

Rachel opened her eyes to see the woman still perched on top of her and for a moment, Rachel had forgotten that she was half naked but Lana didn't look down at her bare upper half. She looked down into Rachel's eyes with a teary gaze.

Rachel frowned. "Lana? What's the matter?" She raised her hand to brush Lana's cheek.

Lana closed her eyes and tears flowed down her cheek, landing upon Rachel's chest, staining her velvet skin. Lana placed her hand to her mouth and withheld a sob. Rachel sat up, facing Lana. "Lana, why are you crying?" She was genuinely worried for Lana's well being and the sight of the other woman crying alarmed her.

Lana shook her head and chuckled softly. "It's nothing."

"Sure seems like something." Rachel searched her gaze.

Lana wiped away the tears and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For coming here. For barging in like I did, for taking your shirt off." She lifted Rachel's shirt, handing it back.

Rachel suddenly remembered she was bare chested and quickly snatched the shirt and put it on over her head and pulled it down over her stomach.

"Sorry." Lana said sheepishly.

"That's okay." Rachel brushed a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "But you still haven't told me what's wrong?"

Lana shook her head and stood from the bed, separating herself from Rachel. Rachel panicked inside. "I shouldn't have come."

Rachel reached out and grabbed a hold of Lana before she could turn away and leave the room. "And you get mad at me for kissing you and running away? Double standards aren't fair, Lana."

Lana smiled sheepishly, "I guess you're right."

"Then what's the matter?"

Lana averted her gaze, not sure what to say. "I may have let my feelings get the best of me."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but it isn't always prudent."

"Well, I don't mind that you came here. To be honest, I could have sworn I was dreaming—oh, no, am I still dreaming?" Panic ran through her again and she put her hands to her lips with a soft gasp.

Lana chuckled. "You're not dreaming. I'm really here."

Rachel relaxed. "That would have been disappointing."

"Would it?"

"Well, yes."

Lana placed her hand upon Rachel's but said nothing.

"Lana?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you stop?"

Silence.

An escaped sigh.

"I rushed myself. It wasn't a good idea."

"Are you leaving then?" Rachel felt that annoying panic fill her once again.

"Do you want me to?" Lana asked, her eyes upon Rachel.

Rachel shook her head, silently.

Lana smiled weakly, "Then I'll stay."

The two women lay in bed together, above the covers. Rachel let Lana wrap her arms around her midriff as her back rested to Lana's chest. She could feel the warmth of Lana's soft breath against the back of her neck. The feeling tickled her but Rachel closed her eyes, exhaling softly as she placed her hands upon Lana's, feeling as the woman tightened her hold on her slowly but surely. Rachel had never felt as safe before or sure of herself as she did, locked in Lana's embrace.

Lana softly kissed the back of Rachel's ear, inhaling her scent. "Goodnight, my Pretty Doll."

Rachel bit back a smile. "Goodnight…"

.

Rachel slept so soundly in Lana's arms and when she woke the following morning, Lana was gone. Rachel rolled to her back, stretching out her hand to feel the empty spot on the bed where Lana had been during the night and gave out a long sigh.

It didn't take Rachel long to notice the small note on the nightstand. She sat up and grabbed it. In pretty writing, it read:

 _Pretty Doll,_

 _See you at my place later today? 3 o'clock, on the dot._

 _Lana_

Rachel lowered the note. If it weren't for it, she would have sworn she dreamt it all. Lana and her sweet kisses.

Rachel let herself fall back upon the bed and picked up the stuffed dinosaur over her head. "Is this real life, dino?" She hugged it to her chest, "It mustn't be because it is too damn heavenly…"

.

Rachel stood in front of her full body mirror, pinning her hair up in a ponytail, too lazy to curl it or do anything else with it. She looked herself up and down in the mirror, questioning her simple yellow sundress and scuffed up boots. She had been awfully preoccupied on why Lana had stopped herself the night before. Rachel would have guessed it was because the step they were about to take was a long one.

Rachel's stomach whirled with nerves. She had never slept with another woman before and the thought was pretty embarrassing at her age, at least. However, her brush with women hadn't been so perfect. She had kissed them in bars and in dark parks past midnight during the time in her life where everything spiraled out of control. When she did nothing but roam the streets of New York, without a home, desperately finding someone to fill the void that loneliness and abandonment left.

The rejection of her friends and family had left Rachel awfully broken. She took a step back from the mirror, grasping her arm.

 _The liquor had made its presence known in her body, lulling her body from side to side. She swayed lazily and without direction. Her hand was tucked into that of the older woman that walked ahead of her. Rachel had always had a thing for older women._

 _Her vision blurred, her cheeks were hot and her lips swollen. She dragged behind the woman down the park walkway, draped under the park lamp's hazy, dim, orange lights. Every single step she took echoed in the darkness and she felt the cold pinch her arms and her bare legs. Perhaps wearing a skirt hadn't been the best idea._

 _The air smelled of moist concrete and wet grass. It had rained while she buried herself in the bar hidden deeply in downtown New York. The city never slept. And in those days, Rachel didn't either._

 _She let the woman lead her deeper into the park, under a large oak tree. She pushed Rachel back against the bark and whispered sweet words to her. Rachel's head spun with the third shot of vodka and second White Russian of the night. She hadn't been able to resist the offer, knowing very well that at least for a moment, she could forget the feeling that gnawed at her day and night._

" _You're such a beautiful girl." The woman said hungrily, brushing her cheek against Rachel's._

 _Rachel moaned softly, not quite understanding her words but the smell of her perfume was so pungent and sweet. All she could think about were the abominations yelled at her by the people she used to love._

" _I'm not a disgrace?" She slurred._

" _Oh, honey, no."_

" _I'm not disgusting?"_

" _Heavens, no."_

 _The woman placed her hands on Rachel's cheeks, holding her face steady, and so her eyes would meet hers._

" _You're perfect."_

 _The woman pressed her lips against Rachel's own, tasting the liquor that lingered. Rachel returned the kiss, tears streaming down her face. The words repeated over and over in her mind._

 _Disgusting._

 _Filthy._

 _Sinner._

 _Whore._

 _Abomination._

 _Disgrace._

 _Rachel laid her head back, breathing heavily. The liquor spun faster than the words. The woman continued to kiss her neck, her collarbones and her chest, whispering sweet words to her laced in lust._

 _Rachel opened her eyes, veering her gaze ahead to nothing in particular, letting the feeling of numbness overtake her._

Rachel pulled herself from the memory, remembering how she stumbled her way back to her motel room, declining the woman's invitation to go back to her place. It had been the same thing every time after that. She had always ran from women, always afraid of rejection or the words that haunted her, too ashamed to face the truth of who she really was. But with Lana it had been so different. Rachel didn't want to run. She wanted Lana to continue to undress her and make sweet love to her. However, it probably was too soon.

Perhaps that's why Lana had stopped. Rachel didn't mind it. If it was meant to happen, it would.

Rachel headed out the front door with the keys and her purse. "Whish me luck." She told Doyle as she headed out the door.

.

Rachel's stomach was a mess by the time she arrived at Lana's house. Lana had told her the address when they said goodbye at the museum the previous evening. Rachel was awfully nervous and wasn't sure what to expect. She took in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Almost instantly, a dog came barking to the door, followed by the shushing of a young voice.

It was Johnny who opened the door, letting out a Beagle who dove to Rachel's shoes, sniffing her with a wagging tail. Rachel was a bit surprised by the dog's excitement towards new company.

"Hi, Johnny." She smiled, remembering that he had been at a sleep over while his mother was at her house taking Rachel's shirt off. Rachel blushed and cleared her throat.

"Hey." He said with a half smile, "You're here to see my mom, aren't you?"

"Yes." Rachel said with a nod.

"She's upstairs getting ready but you can come in. Scout, get off." He grabbed the dog by the collar and took him inside. "Sorry."

"Oh, that's okay."

Inside, Rachel sat in Lana's living room with a glass of cold water that Johnny had served her while they waited for Lana. Lana had a very lovely and lavish home, quaint and homey, too. Johnny sat on the love seat across from Rachel, his eyes on her. Rachel became nervous at this.

"Your dog is very cute." She said, taking a drink from her water.

"Thanks." He said. "Are you my mom's girlfriend?" he asked ever so casually.

Rachel choked on her water, taking it in through the wrong pipe. She covered her mouth and coughed, placing the glass on the coffee table with a shaky hand. Johnny waited patiently until she was done coughing.

"What?" She breathed, "I—what?"

"Johnny, are you bothering Miss Dylan?" Lana appeared in the living room entrance.

"No." Johnny said with a light frown, a bit offended that Lana would assume such a thing.

Rachel stood to her feet, "Oh, no, he's not."

Lana flashed Rachel a smile, "You made it."

Rachel returned the smile. "Of course. 3 O'clock, on the dot."

Lana lead Rachel out to the patio out in the backyard where she served them lemonade and snacks on the patio table. Johnny joined them along with Scout, who wouldn't stop smelling Rachel.

"I have no clue what's gotten into him." Lana referred to Scout.

"He probably smells my cat."

"You have a cat?" Johnny perked up in his chair.

"Yup. Her name's Doyle. She's a calico."

"How cool. Cats are super smart."

"Yes, they are."

"Is she your only pet?"

"Mhm. The one and only."

Johnny went on to tell her that he wanted a cat but Lana wouldn't let him have one. To which Lana stated that Scout was already a big responsibility. Rachel only laughed and teased Lana to let Johnny have a cat. Lana laughed at this. Goodness was her laughter heavenly.

At one point, Johnny went out to play with a little blonde boy that lived down the street. Rachel supposed he was the one whose house Johnny had slept over. They played with marbles on the sidewalk.

When Johnny went off with his friend, Lana turned to Rachel. They were in the kitchen and Lana had just handed Rachel a glass of white wine.

"So, you slept awfully well, I assume?"

Rachel bit back a smile. "Almost too well." She took a drink from her wine and set it down on the counter, "You left early."

Lana turned a bit serious. "Yes, well, I had to be home before Johnny arrived from his friend's."

"Right." Rachel understood perfectly.

Lana stepped closer to Rachel, pinning her against the kitchen counter. Rachel grew awfully nervous the way she always did when Lana got too close. Her body pressed against Rachel's.

"Don't get me wrong, I wish I could have stayed." She spoke in a low, husky voice laced with much yearning.

"You do?"

"Yes. You looked awfully lovely in those pajamas of yours."

Rachel smiled a goofy little grin and averted her glance, remembering that all she wore was underwear and a shirt. "You're just saying that."

Lana placed her finger under Rachel's chin and dragged her gaze to hers. "I don't kid when it comes to you, Miss Dylan."

Rachel met Lana's eyes and her cheeks blushed a light pink. Her stomach whirled with pure excitement and her heart would jump out of her chest like those Bugs Bunny cartoons.

"Lana?"

"Yes?"

"Why did you stop? I mean, last night…when you and I were…you know…"

Lana placed her hands on the counter on either side of Rachel, letting her hand fall from her chin. She took a moment before she answered. "It wasn't the right moment."

Rachel nodded, understanding. "When _is_ the right moment?"

Lana chuckled, stepping back. "You're a very impatient girl, aren't you?"

Rachel half smiled. "Not usually but I was…just wondering." She collected herself.

Lana sighed softly. "Rachel, listen. What I did yesterday," Lana glanced out the kitchen window to check on Johnny who was still playing marbles with his friend, "It was out of line. I rushed myself and I shouldn't have and I realized it a little too late." She paused and tore her vision from the window. "I haven't been with anyone else since my last partner and that was a very long time ago."

Rachel saddened a little at this. She didn't know anything about Lana's personal love life and hadn't thought to ask. "I'm sorry." She found herself saying, "I didn't know."

"It's okay." Lana said before Rachel could begin to sputter out apologies. "I just need some time to adjust, is all."

Rachel smiled, reaching out for Lana's hand and taking it into hers. "I understand." She said, glancing down at their hands intertwined. "I'll wait as long as it takes."

Lana looked at her with a quizzical stare as if she was trying to figure Rachel out but couldn't quite do it. She smiled no less and leaned in to kiss her but stopped. "The blinds," She said, glancing at the window, "They're open."

"Hmm?" Rachel glanced at the open blinds, exposing them to the rest of the neighborhood. The sun was seconds from setting; Johnny and his friend still played out on the sidewalk. A man washed his car and a woman watered her garden. A couple stepped out of their car in their drive way. However, Rachel didn't see the big deal. "What about them?" She referred to the blinds.

"Someone could see." Lana said, that look still upon her expression. Curious, almost.

Rachel shrugged casually. "Let them."

Lana grinned from ear to ear at her response and leaned in again, kissing Rachel till her heart's delight.


	7. Luck

**Disclaimer:** I do not own AHS.

 **A/N:** Hey guys!First week back in college was both fun and a drag. I can already tell you that my math class is going to kill me (It's not my best subject). Anyway, I have a couple of hours in between classes each day so I found the time to write this chapter while I killed time. Enjoy!

.

 **CH 7** \- Luck

.

It had been a month since Rachel visited Lana in her home. It had been a very lovely evening and Rachel had enjoyed herself getting to know Lana on a more personal level. She had felt right about their conversation of taking things slow; Rachel was in no rush. After that day, things between her and Lana were pleasantly and strangely perfect. Lana greeted her every morning upon arriving to work; she often hung around her desk, making small talk and other little conversations. Often, when she'd stay in the office, she'd invite Rachel out to lunch to the small coffee shop across the street and they would spend time together on the weekends.

Lana had invited Rachel out to a play that Lou had given her tickets to because according to him, he had better use of his time. After the play, Rachel invited Lana a small farmer's market on Sunday morning for fruits and some flowers. She then invited the reporter over to her apartment where she made her breakfast and the two talked for hours until Lana had to leave to pick up Johnny from Kit's.

Rachel was ecstatic about their time together and began to feel more comfortable being herself around Lana. She'd crack silly jokes and make funny facial gestures at things that made her uncomfortable or nervous. She let all her little quirks and habits escape around Lana and barely took notice of them. She let herself be herself.

That Wednesday evening, Rachel was in the break room having her lunch when Peter sat down and immediately jumped into a conversation about a movie he had seen the previous weekend with a couple of his friends. He talked animatedly like he always did with Rachel. Rachel didn't really mind Peter; he was kind to her and hadn't done anything to make her uncomfortable unlike one of the other reporters, Willis, who had whistled at her once or twice.

"I honestly can say that I couldn't sleep." He chuckled.

Rachel laughed that kind way she did, amused by his story, "Was it really that terrifying?"

"Oh, I didn't think it was."

Rachel didn't notice when Lana entered the breakroom, noticing her and Peter at the same table.

"But you couldn't sleep." Rachel mused, "How can you tell me you weren't scared if you couldn't sleep?"

She finally noticed Lana when the older woman passed the table without a word on her way to the counter to make herself a cup of coffee. Rachel didn't know why, but she suddenly felt a little nervous.

"Well, between you and I," Peter leaned a bit closer to Rachel, "I heard something in my house during the middle of the night."

Rachel was instantly hooked, forgetting her nerves and leaning in just a tad bit closer. "What?" She said in a low voice.

Lana glanced over her shoulder, noticing Peter get too close to Rachel.

Peter glanced around, "One of the Crazies."

"Really?"

"Really." Peter got closer.

Rachel huffed and pushed away. "You're a liar, Peter Scott."

Peter laughed his cheerful laugh. "Would you like to come watch it with me this weekend? See for yourself if it's not terrifying."

Rachel bit her bottom lip, not sure what to say. True, she and Lana were nothing extremely serious as of yet. Or at least Lana hadn't said anything. She hadn't asked Rachel to be her girlfriend or anything of the matter so she didn't think they were exclusive, just taking things slow. However, she didn't know if Lana would be okay with her going to a movie with a male coworker. One who was obviously interested in her.

"Oh, Peter, I don't know. I—"

"Aren't too scared, are ya?"

"No. It's not that. It's just—"

"Come on, Rachel. Just say yes for once. You won't regret it."

"I might." Rachel said under her breath.

"Was that a yes?"

It was then Lana cleared her throat loudly, grasping the attention of both Rachel and Peter. "Mr. Scott, I hear you got a good lead on the ol' Vanderville case." She leaned against the counter, stirring the spoon in her coffee.

Lana and Rachel met eyes for a moment and for a strange reason, Rachel felt like a little girl in trouble. She could see that Lana was awfully annoyed by something but couldn't really pinpoint what she could have been bothered by. However, it was obvious that it was the fact that Peter had asked her out on a date.

Peter turned around in his chair, unencumbered by Lana's attempt to interrupt them. He was quite oblivious to it.

"Oh, yes. It's quite the story but I think I've cracked it." He said with a winning smile. He then turned to Rachel, "I was just telling Dylan here about that new horror movie _The Crazies_. Have you seen it?"

"I have not." Lana answered.

"It's awfully good."

"I don't need to see it to know it's good." Rachel said, "It's George A. Romero, after all." She took a drink from her tea.

"I didn't know you liked horror movies, Miss Dylan." Lana said. Her eyes still set on her and only her.

Rachel set her tea down. "They're fun to watch."

"Then why don't we go?" Peter suggested, turning back to Rachel.

Rachel met Lana's eyes and held her gaze when she answered, "I can't."

"Why not?"

She continued to hold Lana's gaze. "I'm going out of town."

Lana turned a bit rigid when Rachel said this. Rachel let go of her gaze and turned to Peter, giving him a soft smile. "I'm sorry."

Peter sighed. "Oh, that's fine." He stood to his feet, "But one day, you'll say yes." He tapped her nose with a finger and chuckled, leaving the break room.

Rachel remained seated, a bit confused and rather frazzled by Peter's confidence and the situation all together.

"I didn't know you were going out of town?" Lana commented, setting her mug down on the counter. It remained halfway untouched.

"I'm not." Rachel admitted, "To be honest, I'm running out of excuses." She said sheepishly, looking down to her tea. She could feel it going cold.

When Lana didn't speak, Rachel glanced up to notice her serious expression. "Is something wrong?"

"As a matter of fact, there is something wrong." Lana stood straight.

Rachel became nervous, "What is it?"

"In my office. Not here." She pushed from the counter and filed out of the breakroom.

Rachel stood seated, unsure if she should follow her or not.

"Today, Miss Dylan!" She heard Lana call from the hall.

"Coming!" Rachel called out and jumped to her feet.

.

When Rachel stepped into Lana's office, the other woman closed the door behind her. Rachel stood in front of her desk, hands clasped in front of her. She felt nervous, as if Lana was the school headmistress and she was a student in trouble. Rachel thought about the little scenario and began to drift off into her fantasies.

"Miss Dylan."

"Hmm?" Rachel snapped out of her little thoughts, "Yes?"

"You may not know this about me, but I don't like to share."

"Share?" Rachel was confused by what she meant.

"I'm speaking about Mr. Scott."

Rachel frowned, "Peter? Why would you have to share with Peter? I don't understand."

Lana stood closer, face to face with Rachel. "I'm not very fond of sharing what's mine." She placed her hands on Rachel's arms.

Rachel remained a little confused but slowly understood.

Lana sighed, "Never mind."

Rachel frowned but let it go. "I'm sorry." She said, not sure what she was apologizing for. "He keeps asking and I'm running out of excuses."

Lana waved her hand, "Don't be, sorry."

"Does Peter bother you, Lana?" Rachel asked, a worried expression crossing her pretty face.

Lana became a bit rigid but she cleared her throat and walked around her desk. "Is he a close friend of yours?"

Rachel only shrugged. She wouldn't say she was very close to Peter. Indeed he was the only one she really talked to in the office but they never really saw each other outside of work.

"Not very close. He's a nice person, though."

Lana nodded. Rachel could see that Lana was trying to figure something out in her own head by the way her eyes softly scanned her desk as if the answer was upon it. Rachel knew Lana had struggled to move on from the death of her last partner and she didn't want to push her. Rachel could only imagine what that was like but she knew that after Vivian, she too felt like she couldn't really move on. That or she just wasn't interested in getting too serious with anyone else.

Rachel thought of all the women she had kissed at sketchy bars and in dark alleyways and in parks past midnight and suddenly felt odd about herself. Lana picked up on Rachel's strange exterior and walked over to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Oh, no. You didn't." Rachel put on a smile. "I was just thinking."

"About?"

Rachel shook her head, "It's not important."

Lana smiled. "Listen, it's not fair of me to keep you all to myself."

Rachel raised a brow. It was all she wanted. For Lana to have her all to herself.

"Go out with Peter to see that movie." Lana forced a smile.

"Lana, are you sure about this?"

"Of course. After all, he's _just_ a friend, right?"

"Yes." Rachel answered firmly, "Just a work friend."

"Then go on. Have fun." Lana leaned in, kissing Rachel's cheek softly and then walked back to her desk, leaving Rachel standing there, unsure what to do.

.

The rest of the day was awfully slow. Lana left to follow another story. Rachel had noticed that Lana didn't like to stay still for too long when it came to work. She was hands on and wasn't afraid to get those hands dirty. However, Rachel noted that there was a sense of restriction that Lana set for herself when it came to following stories and Rachel knew she was being mindful of Johnny. After all, she was all he had.

Rachel didn't see Lana when she went home that evening but she was still in a good mood. Rachel had thought a lot about her behavior in the break room and came to the conclusion that Lana was jealous of Peter. She couldn't blame her; Rachel would feel the same way if it had come down to it. Not to mention the fact that Lana had claimed Rachel as "hers" and that alone sent Rachel flying to the moon.

Rachel entered her apartment and the first thing she did, aside from set her things down, was to feed Doyle. She then showered, feeling sticky from the warm weather outside and began to cook dinner.

Rachel loved to cook. Ever since she had helped the nuns at her boarding school cook the meals. It was just something she enjoyed doing. She made lasagna that night with chocolate cake for dessert, feeling like spoiling herself for a hard week of work so far. Lou had her pretty busy and the cake was a reward.

While dinner cooked, Rachel sat down to watch some TV with a nice glass of wine. She stretched out on the sofa, enjoying her own company (and that of Doyle's, of course). Somehow, it felt as if she had always lived on her own.

She set the glass of wine down on the coffee table and laid on her back, eyes set on the television screen. From the corner of her eye she saw the letter she had written to her parents and couldn't help but to think of them.

 _Twelve-year-old Rachel stood by her mother's side on the patio of her father's best friend's house. She could barely hear herself think over the loud screaming and laughing of children in the pool. Her mother had made her wear a bathing suit she didn't particularly like. It was a pastel pink with a blue sailor bow. It made her feel just a little bit childish. She hid it underneath a raggedy red sweater she had taken from her younger brother, hiding her embarrassment._

 _She watched her older sister go off with some older boys and her younger brother run right to the pool, diving into the water._

 _Her father was talking to a group of men by the grill and her mother was gossiping away. Rachel felt awfully stiff and out of place. She had been home for the summer from boarding school and all she had wanted was to go back to the nuns who always welcomed her with open arms and kind smiles._

 _Mrs. Dylan noticed Rachel and frowned, "Rachel, go on and take a swim, darling." She pushed Rachel towards the pool._

 _Rachel froze. "I don't want to."_

 _Her mother forced a laugh, putting up appearances for the women around them that eyed Rachel like a little ugly duckling._

" _Go on." Her mother forced her, "You'll have fun. And take this ugly thing off." She yanked the sweater off of her, exposing her to the world. "Now, go."_

 _Rachel's shoulders slumped and she did as she was told. Her mother turned her back to her and continued to talk and gossip with the other women. Rachel made her way nervously from the patio to the pool. She looked at all the people at the party and felt self-conscious. She placed her hand on her arm in means to cover her exposed midriff. How she wished she was with the kind nuns, far away from it all._

 _Rachel stood at the edge of the pool, looking into the water. She could see her reflection sway back and forth with the movement of the water. It was then the giggle of other girls caught her attention and she looked up to see them. They sat at the edge of the pool, gossiping amongst each other. Rachel had gone unnoticed to them._

 _Rachel's eyes wandered up their lean legs and up to their arms, admiring their pretty bathing suits. There was something about the girls that caught Rachel's attention and she couldn't look away. She watched the way their mouths moved, turning into smiles with each set of laughter. She watched the way their expressions changed so swiftly and delicately. It was almost alluring. Rachel couldn't bring herself to look away but there was something about those girls that made her feel different._

 _Rachel then felt heavy eyes on her and looked over her shoulder to see her father standing yards away , staring at her intently behind dark shades. Rachel looked back down to the water and felt herself sinking deeper and deeper without ever touching the water._

 _._

Rachel opened her eyes when the sweet scent of chocolate cake began to smell a bit burned. She jumped to her feet, still drowsy from her short nap and dashed to the kitchen where the timer had gone off. She turned off the over and put on an oven mitt to take the cake out.

She set it on the counter and sighed. "That was close."

She then checked the lasagna to find it perfect and ready.

Rachel relaxed and thought back to the memory of her childhood before she had taken notice of what all those strange thoughts had really meant. Sometimes she wondered if her parents had known before she had. Somehow, they had always treated her just a little bit differently.

"Hmph." She said to herself, "Who needs them." She sighed and took out the lasagna from the oven.

.

Rachel had agreed to Peter's invitation to the movies upon Lana's request. Lana had obviously been bothered by it but for some strange reason had encouraged her to go. So that Friday night, Rachel met Peter outside of the movie theater down town.

The outside of the theater was a bit crowded but Rachel had no trouble finding Peter and has winning smile. He was beyond himself that Rachel had finally accepted his invite even though she had made it perfectly clear that it was only as friends. So Peter bought their tickets, some popcorn, soda and candy (even though Rachel had denied any) and off they went into the auditorium to find their seats.

"I hope this movie isn't too scary for you." Peter joked.

Rachel laughed, "Please, I doubt it will be."

The lights dimmed and the previews began followed by the movie.

Halfway through the movie, Rachel was grasping the arm rests of her chair, nails digging deep, eyes wide, lips parted, popcorn and candy left abandoned, totally transfixed by the horror on screen.

Peter looked at her and smiled. He leaned in and whispered, "You okay?"

"Yeah." Rachel whispered back, forcing herself to relax.

There was a boom and a scream on screen followed by gasps and startled yelps from the crowd. Rachel jumped an inch off her seat, surprised by the sudden attack but not truly afraid. The next thing Rachel knew, Peter was attempting to wrap an arm around her. Rachel quickly pulled away and turned to him, "Do you want more popcorn? I'm going to get some more popcorn." She jumped to her feet and excused herself from the isle, leaving Peter with the words in his mouth.

Once out in the lobby, Rachel took in a deep breath and relaxed herself. She was awfully jumpy and hadn't known how to react to Peter's advances and wished she would have just stayed home. Peter was a handsome young man; he was kind to her and very respectful. However, she wasn't interested in him but didn't want to make him feel bad either. She just couldn't imagine herself being with a man. It made her stomach twist.

Rachel went to the snack bar with the empty bucket of popcorn, having split most of it on the ground after her last startled jump.

"Refill please." She told the teenage boy behind the counter, "Oh, and some licorice."

After Rachel paid for the candy and retrieved her refill, she returned to the movie. When she sat next to Peter, he leaned in slightly and asked if she was okay. Rachel nodded and offered him some popcorn.

When the movie was over, the two of them walked side by side out of the theater and down the street where Rachel had parked her car.

"Hey, so I had a good time." Peter spoke up.

Rachel smiled at him. "Me too."

They stopped upon reaching her car. Peter turned a little nervous. "Hey, so, it's still early. I have some wine Burk gave me if you wanna go back to my place?" His invite seemed innocent enough but Rachel wasn't interested.

"That sounds lovely but I think I'll just go home." Rachel forced a smile. "I hope that's okay."

She went to open her door but Peter stopped her. "Well, would you like to get some dinner tomorrow?"

Rachel saddened at this, "Peter, you know I told you I only see you as a friend, remember?"

He sighed, stepping back. "Yes, I remember. I just thought that maybe…" he paused for a moment, "Rachel. You aren't dating someone else, are you?" He was clearly upset but remained calm and composed.

Rachel became rigid as his question and immediately thought of Lana. She and her weren't an official couple, they were just dating. Rachel knew that but she didn't want to really be with anyone else but Lana.

"Not exactly but I do like someone else and well, I'm not interested in dating anyone that isn't them. I hope you can understand that, Peter."

Peter nodded in understanding and rubbed the back of his head, unsure of what to say next to Rachel's rejection. "Right. I can understand that. Who ever he is, he sure is a lucky guy."

Rachel smiled sheepishly but didn't correct him. She knew that when it came to Lana, it was Rachel who was lucky, or else she believed it so.

"But we can still go out as friends, right?" He asked cautiously, hoping she'd say yes.

Rachel grinned at this, wanting nothing more. "Of course we can."


	8. Be My Baby

**Disclaimer** : I do not own AHS. Just Rachel, now that I think about it. And Lou. And Peter?

 **A/N** : Okay, so this chapter was originally part of the last one but I didn't have time to type it up from my notebook so I decided to do it separately.

My first week back in school was utterly exhausting. Luckily I haven't been drowned in much homework yet and this three-day weekend gave me some time.

Ps. iloveh2o, I envy you, I have no idea how you do it being a math major. Math is not my friend so I'm with the rest of you lol. English is my major (aside from screenwriting) Like I can write an eight-page essay, the day before it's due and get an A on the rough draft without bothering to write a polished, final one, but I cannot do math to save my life.

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 **CH 8** \- Be My Baby

.

That night, Rachel lay wide-awake thinking about the movie. Every single sound and bump in the night kept her wide awake. She hugged the stuffed dinosaur to her chest and looked in the direction of her closed door. She had left the kitchen light on, too nervous to be in pure darkness.

"Doyle, is that you?" She whispered.

Doyle purred from the foot of the bed. Rachel could feel her warm weight on top of the blanket when she stretched out her legs. The cat's presence made her feel better, however, whatever she head outside the room, she couldn't blame it on the cat. She thought of the crazies banging on her door and bursting into her room and huffed.

"Damn it, Peter."

It wasn't until four in the morning that Rachel managed to calm herself and fall asleep. She had realized how ridiculous she was being and put the thought of crazed lunatics aside. She woke around eight in the morning and got up, showered, had breakfast and plunked down on the sofa to watch TV, not having anything better to do that day anyway. She slowly dozed off again and didn't wake a second time until sometime past eleven when there was knock on the door.

Rachel sat straight up, dazed and confused. "Who? What's there?" Her words jumbled. Rachel noticed she was underdressed and grew even more confused, forgetting what day it was. She stumbled to her feet and hurried to answer the door when they knocked again.

"Yes?" She asked, a yawn escaping her.

"Well, good morning there, pretty doll."

Rachel's eyes fluttered open to greet Lana Winters. "Lana!" She gasped, not expecting to see her there on her doorstep. She never expected to see Lana on her doorstep and yet there she was.

Lana eyed her and raised a brow, "Did you just get up?"

Rachel nodded, rubbing a sleepy eye.

Lana laughed, "Goodness, you're too adorable."

Rachel blushed, "I'm sorry, how rude of me. Come on in." She stepped aside and let Lana in her apartment.

Rachel followed after Lana after she closed the door behind her., "Would you like anything? Water? Milk? Tea? Juice?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you."

They filed into Rachel's kitchen. Lana stopped at the round kitchen table and hung her purse from the back of the chair while Rachel went to the fridge. "I'm so sorry, I woke up a bit late today and I didn't realize we had made plans." She reached inside and pulled a carton of orange juice.

"Oh, we didn't make any plans."

Rachel turned around to face her, carton in hand, a confused look crossed her face, "We didn't?"

"No."

"Oh," Rachel said. She must have been more confused then she thought, "Then what do I owe the pleasure of this lovely visit?" She smiled, happy to have Lana in her home, regardless.

Lana eyed Rachel for a moment, silent. She then flashed that casual smile of hers. "I just wanted to see how you were."

"Oh," Rachel poured herself juice into a cup, "I'm fine. But you didn't have to come all the way down here for that."

"Trust me, I don't mind." Lana's eyes wandered around the kitchen, "So, you must have had stayed up pretty late last night by the looks of it…" her tone sounded casual and Rachel didn't catch anything amiss in her tone.

She drank some juice and nodded. "Yes, I didn't get _any_ sleep last night. I must have been up until four." She laughed sheepishly.

Lana turned rather serious and quiet. "Oh? Is that so?"

Rachel nodded. "Mhm." Drinking more juice from her cup.

"I assume you had a nice night out with Peter then?" She avoided eye contact with Rachel.

"It was alright. We went to watch that movie he wanted to see."

"How was it?"

Rachel thought of the night before where she was hugging the stuffed dinosaur to her chest, too afraid to fall asleep. "It was great." She flashed a nervous smile, "Very good film. Believable. _Too_ believable if you ask me…but I did enjoy it as a film in general."

Lana nodded, serious still. "Did Peter enjoy himself?" She asked next. Rachel could tell all the joyful tone had gone from her voice.

"I think so. I don't know." Rachel suddenly remembered rejecting him and felt awfully bad about hurting his feelings.

Before Rachel knew it, Lana was in front of her, taking her cup from her hand and setting it on the counter. "You don't know? What do you mean, you don't know? Did you two do anything after?" She kept her eyes averted from Rachel's gaze, running them up her bare arms and onto her collarbones, softly biting part of her bottom lip.

"No," Rachel answered, suddenly nervous at the feeling of Lana's fingers intertwined around hers, "I came home after the movie…"

Lana's eyes shot at hers, a teasing smile creeping on her lips. "Alone?"

Rachel raised a brow with a half amused smile. "Lana, are you worried that I was up late last night with Peter?"

Lana's brows pulled together. "No, you're a grown woman. You can do what you wish."

Rachel thought of what Lana had said the day before, of not wanting to share what was hers and grinned with a repressed giggle. "Are you jealous?"

Lana huffed. "Jealous? No, of course not."

"Do you trust me then?"

"Of course I trust you. It's that boy I don't trust."

Rachel laughed at the fact that she had called Peter a boy. He was older than Rachel herself, "Oh, Lana."

"Don't 'oh, Lana', me young lady." She said warningly with a little bit of teasing.

Rachel tilted her head back and laughed, utterly delighted. She had never seen Lana act in such a way. It was awfully amusing because Lana was always so proper around the office and so professional as well. She never let any personal emotions escape her.

"Oh, don't pout, Lana." Rachel said, placing her hands on Lana's cheeks, smoothing out the expression on her face, "Your face will stay that way." Rachel mimicked a pouty lip.

Lana huffed and frowned again. "I'm not pouting."

Rachel laughed and kissed her. "You don't need to worry about Peter. I already told him I only see him as a friend and nothing more."

Lana sighed softly. "I hope he respects that."

"I'm sure he will." Rachel said and then bit her bottom lip, remembering something that Lana had said at the office, "So, I'm yours?"

"Hmm?" Lana slightly tilted her head as if she didn't know what Rachel was talking about.

"The other day you said you don't like sharing what's yours." Rachel fiddled with her fingers, her eyes shot up at Lana and her lips were pressed together in a little puckered smile. "Am I what's yours?"

Lana backed away, looking rather ambushed. She cleared her throat and stammered only a little before she caught herself. Her gaze, now serious, caught Rachel's. She stepped closer, pinning Rachel against the counter, "Does that bother you, Ms. Dylan?"

Rachel's heart accelerated with excitement. She loved the way Lana's tone went low, almost dangerous. If only people could see through walls, there would be an uproar outside her door. "No." Rachel answered boldly.

Lana leaned in to kiss her but didn't. Instead, she backed away and turned to the table, "Well, then I hope Mr. Scott keeps his distance and respects your boundaries."

Rachel watched Lana with that very amused smile. "Because you don't like sharing?"

Lana glanced over her shoulder with a tantalizing smirk, "Not one single bit."

.

Lana waited patiently in the living room while Rachel changed. She had invited her to a BBQ at Kit's house where Johnny currently was. Lana said the boy spent a lot of time at the Walker home.

"He likes Kit a lot." Lana said as she drove them in her spotless car. "He sees him like a dad."

Rachel smiled. "I'm glad Johnny has a positive male figure in his life."

"Did you?" Lana asked, keeping her attention on the road.

"Did I what?"

"Have a positive male figure in your life? I know you told me you spent most of your time with nuns, but did you?"

Rachel thought of her father. Her strict, stern father who always looked at her with disappointment and judgment. "Um, well, I had my father but we weren't really close."

"Oh?" Lana looked over at her, "May I ask why?"

Rachel sighed softly. "Well, as you know, my middle name is Wyatt. After my grandfather."

"You mentioned your parents believed you were going to be a boy?" Lana looked back to the road.

"Mhm." Rachel nodded. "Grandpa always wanted a grandson and Dad always wanted a son. They didn't get it with my older sister, but I don't think they minded much that time."

"Why do you think?"

"I don't know. Maybe because they thought they would have more time. Who knows but when I was born my grandfather was really sick and well, when they saw I was a girl…well, I guess you can say disappointment is worse the second time around…"

Lana looked to Rachel with a saddened look on her face. "Is that why you weren't close to your father?"

"I guess." Rachel turned a bit nervous, "My grandfather died about two years after I was born. He didn't get his grandson and well, I suppose it kind of hung over my head."

Lana frowned at this. "I hardly believe that was any of your fault."

"Yeah, well, that's how it was. I was about seven until my little brother was born but till then, things were a bit rough." She looked down to her lap.

Lana placed her hand on top of hers and when Rachel looked at her, Lana was smiling at her. "Well, if it makes a difference. I'm glad you were born you."

Rachel smiled, "Me too."

Lana pulled her hand away and placed it back on the wheel. "To be honest, your father reminds me a lot of mine."

"How?"

"Well, my father was awfully strict with my sister and I, growing up. Very close minded man with a lot of power and connections. But I don't think I disappointed him until I came out."

Rachel looked at her. "How old were you when you did?"

"Hmm, very young. No older than twenty-one, I believe. Anyway, our relationship wasn't the very best and after Johnny was born, well, we had even more problems."

"Too bad we can't pick our fathers, huh?"

Lana chuckled. "Yes, it is too bad." And then she turned serious and Rachel thought she must have been thinking of Johnny's father. So she flashed a smile and changed the subject, "So, I was talking to my neighbor, Margaret the other day and _she_ told me that her daughter Lucille is marrying a her long time boyfriend whose sister dresses like a man."

Lana gave out a chuckle, "Goodness, Rachel Wyatt. I didn't peg you for the little gossip."

Rachel laughed, "Wait, just hear me out. So when Lucille meets her boyfriend's sister for the first time, she mistakes her for his cousin, Roger."

Lana laughed even more. "How? I thought they were a long time couple?"

"Well, she lives in Baltimore and hadn't visited till then."

Rachel didn't know why she had just begun ranting about her neighbor's business but she could see that it had distracted Lana from whatever tormented thought she had been thinking of and put a smile on her face. And that's what Rachel wanted to see; Lana happy and smiling, always.

.

When they arrived at Kit's, there was only but a few people there including the children. Lana introduced them. They were some of Kit's friends he had met after reopening his car shop. Rachel said hi to the kids and to Johnny who greeted her a bit curiously but delighted, no less. Kit was a bit surprised to see her but extremely welcoming and happy to see her overall.

"So I hear ya and Lana have been goin' out lately. I tell ya, I'm glad that she's finally getting out instead of buryin' herself in work."

"She told you about that?" Rachel asked as she looked over at Lana whom was talking to Julia and placing a little dandelion she had found, in her curly hair.

"Yeah. Yer quite popular in her world." Kit smiled with a soft chuckle.

Rachel kept her eyes on Lana, who after a while noticed her watching and locked eyes with her. They exchanged a smile and Rachel felt even happier than she possibly could have.

Rachel found that she loved being at Kit's. Their family was so different yet so warm and loving that it made her feel right at home. And that's what Rachel loved about the two little families that had opened their homes and lives to her. That neither of them were what was considered to be normal in their time but was slowly becoming so. Each little dynamic only had a single parent but one who loved them without question. It made Rachel think of her mother and her father. She had been given both parents and a "normal" family unit but neither of them had loved her enough to see past her differences.

The thought alone truly saddened her but remembering where she was pushed those thoughts aside.

.

When it came time to go, Lana, Johnny and Rachel drove home in the night.

"Did you have a good time?" Lana asked Rachel.

"I did." She leaned her head on the headrest of her seat, glancing at Lana, "Thank you for inviting me."

"Of course." Lana looked back to the road ahead of her. "What about you, Johnny? Did you have a good time?"

"Yeah." Johnny said from the back seat, "Uncle Kit's friend, Lucky says he has a three-wheeled ATV like James Bond. He said we could take it driving. Can I?" He leaned in from the back seat.

Lana snorted. "Yes Johnny boy, why don't I just buy you one so you don't have to ride Lucky's?"

Rachel pressed her lips together holding back a small giggle. Johnny frowned, "You're just being sarcastic, aren't you?"

"What do you think, little boy?"

Johnny huffed and sat back down and crossed his arm. "That's not fair."

"You know what's not fair? Your mother worrying herself to death while you lie in some hospital bed after cracking your skull from falling off of on one of those things."

"I won't fall." He retorted, "And I'm not little."

Lana laughed, "Alright, alright. But you're still not riding one of those things. I don't think I trust Lucky very much."

.

Johnny had fallen asleep in the back seat by the time Lana parked the car outside Rachel's apartment building. The two woman got out of the car and Lana walked Rachel to door of the apartment.

"I'd invite you both to come in but it might be getting a little late for Johnny."

"Next time." Lana smiled.

Rachel did too and glanced down to her hands. "I really had a great time today, Lana. It felt really nice to be amongst a lot of people for a change."

Lana smiled understandingly. Rachel had told her before that she had spent a lot of time alone and didn't go out much. "I'm glad you did and I'll be sure to invite you to more get-togethers in the future."

Rachel grinned, "I'd love that."

"Me too, but…" Lana stepped forth and took a hold of Rachel's hand, "To be quite honest, I'd rather have you all to myself."

Rachel bit her bottom lip, "I forgot, you don't like to share."

"No, I really don't." Lana pressed her forehead against Rachel's and softly kissed her lips. The neighborhood was empty but Rachel didn't care. She adored being kissed by Lana out on her front porch where everyone could see them.

"Lana?" Rachel asked when she pulled away.

"Yes?" Lana was still too preoccupied planting soft kisses on Rachel's lips and on her cheek.

"Am I really yours?" She asked, her tone rather serious.

Lana stopped and met her gaze, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, am I _really_ yours? You know, like in _that_ way." Rachel glanced down, averting Lana's gaze. "I know we joked about it earlier but I was just—I guess I was just wondering because I know we're taking things slow and I'm okay with that but when Peter asked if I was seeing anyone I didn't really know what to tell him just that I liked someone and well, I guess I was confused as to what we—"

"Rachel, you're rambling again." Lana chuckled. She placed her hands on Rachel's face and brought her eyes to meet hers.

"Sorry."

Lana studied her gaze, holding it dearly, "Do you want to be mine?"

Rachel parted her lips to speak. She already knew the answer to Lana's question and it was what she wanted more than anything. She only had to say the word.

"Well?" Lana pressed.

Rachel looked into her eyes and didn't hesitate a second longer. "Yes."


	9. Sentimental Hearts

**Disclaimer** : I do not own AHS

 **A/N:** Sorry for the absence with this fic been updating all the others lol 

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 **CH 9** \- Sentimental Hearts

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"Yes."

The word hung in the air so bold yet filled with so many hopes and fears bundled into one.

"Yes."

Short, sweet and to the point.

"Yes."

Rachel could repeat it over and over again without ever growing tired of it. She was sure of it. She had dreamt of it many times before only to wake up with great disappointment.

Lana grinned that brilliant smile when she heard that wonderful answer come out of Rachel's sweet lips, "Then, Ms. Dylan, you _really_ are mine."

Rachel smiled, biting her bottom lip. She could barely contain herself. She glanced down to her hands, fiddling with her fingers. "I like the sound of that."

Lana lifted Rachel's chin with a finger, pulling her face closer, "I do too." and kissed her.

Rachel's head spun and she swore her leg had lifted in the air like she had seen it happen in the movies. Lana's lips were always so sweet like honey and Rachel couldn't fathom the fact that they were real. Her heart beat so wildly against her chest that she worried it would break through her ribcage.

"I'm not dreaming, am I?" Rachel asked when they broke from their kiss.

"No, you're not." Lana reassured her.

Rachel sighed in relief, "Good because that would really be a shame."

Lana laughed, "What a silly girl you are."

.

When Rachel closed the door to her apartment behind her, she leaned against it, glancing up at the ceiling as if it had a perfect picture upon it. She was running their conversation through her head, reliving every single little moment with a lazy smile upon her face. She could still smell Lana's perfume on her and instantly missed her.

Doyle meowed, breaking Rachel from her deep thoughts. When she saw the cat, Rachel pushed from the door and leaned down to pick up the purring feline in her arms.

"Guess what, Doyle?" She asked the cat, "Lana and I…" She pressed her lips together in a tiny smile, barely unable to believe it herself, "Lana and I are together now."

Doyle meowed, not in response but in hunger. Rachel lifted the cat before her, "Yes, together-together. Like an _actual_ couple."

Doyle meowed again.

"I know right?" She hugged Doyle back to her chest, a gruff meow escaping the cat. "I still can't believe it myself." Rachel gasped, "What if I'm dreaming?" She looked down at Doyle, "No, that's silly. Isn't it?"

She walked to the kitchen and set Doyle down, reaching up into the cabinet to pull the cat's food down. "You should have seen her, Doyle. She looked so beautiful." Rachel beamed, just giddy with herself. "I still can't believe it."

After she fed Doyle, Rachel danced her way to her room where she twirled in front of her bed and fell backwards upon it, still foolishly numb from it all. She wished Lana hadn't said goodnight and left. If anything, Rachel wished Lana was there with her but was reassured that she would see her the following day at the office.

And sure enough, the next morning, Lana walked into the office the same time she always did. However, this time, Rachel noticed a tiny smirk along her face and when her brown eyes met hers, they shined in such a brilliant way that made Rachel's heart flutter.

"Good morning, my pretty doll." Rachel spoke in a soft voice so only Rachel could hear as she placed her hands upon the desk and leaned in close to her ear.

"Good morning." Rachel's cheeks blushed a brilliant red. She still wasn't able to handle Lana's undivided attention.

But it was the way Lana had called her "My pretty doll." The "my" hadn't been there before, or at least not that Rachel remembered but it made it all that much more real.

"And how are we doing today?" Lana backed away; Rachel wished she hadn't but she became aware of the rest of their co-workers that were beginning to enter the office.

"Very good." Rachel smiled, "And you?"

"Just phenomenal."

Rachel suddenly felt giddy at Lana's upbeat mood. She liked seeing Lana happy and it looked like she really was. Lana began to ask Rachel if she had gotten enough sleep when Lou came out of his office demanding his first cup of coffee. Embarrassed, as if her own mother had interrupted her, Rachel apologized to Lana and got up to make Lou's coffee.

Lana followed Rachel into the break room, making sure no one else was with them. "I don't know why you let Lou boss you around like that." Lana crossed her arms, rather annoyed.

"Lana, he's my boss." Rachel said sheepishly as she retrieved Lou's favorite mug from the cabinets.

"Still, it does not give him the right to treat you so."

Rachel turned around and gave Lana a small smile. "I really don't mind it. I know how he is."

"Well, I mind it." Lana went up to her, grasping her hand.

"Don't worry. It's just coffee."

Lana huffed, not amused at all and there was something about her that made Rachel a little nervous. She hadn't remembered until that moment that Lana was a very headstrong woman. She was tenacious and unwilling to back down.

"I'm going to have a word with him." Lana turned to leave but Rachel stopped her.

"Lana, please don't. I honestly don't mind. It's just a job."

Lana looked as if Rachel had offended her. "Doll, you deserve better than this."

"I know." Rachel admitted, backing away, "But if I move up I want to do it on my own. Not because my girlfriend yelled at my boss…" Her cheeks grew pink.

Lana chuckled softly, "Oh, Ms. Dylan, the world you live in."

.

Rachel was awfully busy through out the day, running errands back and forth. Lana had left the office on another story and Rachel was awfully sad to see her go but she toughed it out. By the time she was done, Lana was still out on the field and so Rachel went on home in a good mood, reminding herself that she and Lana were a couple.

She went home and cleaned her apartment from top to bottom. For some reason she just couldn't sit still. Doyle watched from her spot perched on top of a bookcase in the living room, watching with lazy green eyes. She swatted her paw when Rachel brought out the feather duster and dusted all the books. Bob Dylan filled the apartment and Rachel couldn't help but to think of Lana.

 _Girl from the North Country_ played and Rachel stopped suddenly, letting Doyle grab a hold of the feather duster with a single paw and bring it to her mouth. Rachel gazed off to nowhere, thinking of the first time she had kissed Lana in the office, late at night. She then thought of the day they spent together at the museum, Lana's smile radiating the entire evening. What a beautiful day it had been.

Rachel then grew worried and took the feather duster from Doyle. "It's so strange, kitty. I just saw here this morning but I miss her already." She glanced up at Doyle, scratching her chin, "Is it always going to be this way? When we're not together…"

Rachel sighed and stepped back from the bookcase, gazing to the record player where the song continued to play. A sense of worry began to grow in the pit of her stomach followed by a sense of longing. How long would the feeling last? Would it be ripped away so easily? Rachel thought of all the women before Lana. They held no importance in her life. They were all desperate attempts to fill the void that had been left inside of her. Acts of rebellion against her family for abandoning her. Reminders of who she really was.

A woman in love with another woman.

Why was it so abnormal?

Why was it so disgusting to others?

Rachel looked to her room where she had left the door open. Upon her bed sat the stuffed triceratops.

None of it had felt abnormal.

None of it had been disgusting.

It had all been heavenly.

Rachel plunked down on the sofa, legs over the armrest and covered her face with her arms.

Lana's sweet laughter came to mind.

Rachel was over thinking it all.

"Oh, Bob Dylan," She sighed, "Why must you hurt me so?"

Rachel lay there, listening to the music until the phone rang. She let it ring a couple of times before she got up and answered it.

"Hello?"

" _Oh, good, someone is home."_

Rachel laughed, recognizing her voice. "Yes, I'm home."

" _I thought you wouldn't be home."_

Rachel leaned back against the sofa, hugging a cushion to her chest, "Would you have been disappointed if I wasn't?"

" _I will admit so, yes."_

Rachel smiled, "How was the field?"

" _The same as always. How was the office?"_

Rachel laughed lightly, "The same as always. Are you home now?"

" _Yes. I just got home a little while ago."_

Rachel remembered the song in the background and the feeling that had begun to eat away at it. "Can I ask you something, Lana?"

" _Anything, my pretty doll."_

"Is it crazy that I miss you already?"

There was a pause on the other line and Rachel grew a little nervous. _"No. It's entirely sane."_

Rachel leaned her head back, glancing at the ceiling. "Why do you think so?"

" _Because I've seen crazier things. Not to mention that I feel the same way."_

Rachel smiled and tilted to the side, falling upon the sofa and burying her face in the folded blanket she kept there, feeling giddy and overwhelmed. She could hear Lana laughing on the other end, " _Are you alive?"_

"I've never felt more alive." She said softly, her smile calming.

" _You're the sweetest thing."_ Lana voice softened and trailed off. _"Now. Tell me about your day."_

"My day?" Rachel asked, "At the office?"

" _Yes."_

"But why? Nothing happened. I'd rather much hear about your day out in the city."

Lana laughed. _"No, no, I asked first."_

Rachel smiled, lying on her back, "Okay." She said and began to tell Lana every little part of her day.

Talking to Lana was so different than talking to other people. Rachel didn't have to hide who she really was and it was a burden off her shoulders. They talked for over an hour and then Lana announced she had to get dinner started for Johnny but she would see Rachel bright and early in the morning.

After they hung up, Rachel looked around her half clean apartment and realized that the sun was setting and she hadn't yet finished. Doyle had fallen asleep on the book shelf, unencumbered by her owner's chores left abandoned.

It was nearly eight 0'clock by the time Rachel finished cleaning the entire place and was far too tired to cook herself anything eccentric so she made herself some pancakes, lathered them with strawberry jam and sat in front of the television with a glass of milk. Rachel knew her mother would disapprove of breakfast for dinner but her mother wasn't around anymore to make such decisions for her.

Rachel glanced down to the coffee table where she had left the letter to her parents untouched. She had thought multiple times about throwing it away but always became too lazy to pick it up and do so. Perhaps she would deal with it another day.

Rachel often wondered what her family was up to and if they ever thought about her. She knew they didn't or else she would have heard from them. It was beyond Rachel how a parent could abandon their child for such a thing. And it got Rachel to thinking of how lucky Johnny Winters was. The boy had a wonderful mother that Rachel knew would accept him no matter what. Rachel wished her mother had been the same.

That night, Rachel went to bed with thoughts of Lana and her parents. However, Lana was the last person on her mind before she fell asleep.

.

The two women were in the back room bright and early the following morning. Lana pushed Rachel back against the shelves where they kept the extra paper and pens and kissed her passionately.

The thrill of being caught was always present and Lana was much more bold than Rachel had thought. She almost seemed like she didn't care if they were caught and that sent a little sense of fear through Rachel that she found to be quite exhilarating.

Rachel had mixed feelings about being found out. She didn't care to tell the world of about the woman she was with. What Rachel feared was being outcast again, re-living what she did back in her old life. All the ugly words and dirty looks terrified her.

"What if someone comes?" Rachel asked when she pushed away from Lana.

"No one will come." Lana assured her, leaning in for another kiss.

"What if they do?"

Lana pulled away, studying Rachel's concerned expression. She looked like a terrified little lamb. "Are you afraid of being caught?"

Rachel averted her gaze. "I guess I'm just nervous about…well, in my last job…when—um, it's because." She stopped herself before her mouth began to vomit out useless words, "When people in my last job found out about me, well, they weren't the kindest. I had to drop everything. My entire life and," She glanced up at Lana, "I'm not ready to give _this_ up."

"Oh, you silly girl." Lana sighed, "You won't have to give up anything."

Lana's words left Rachel feeling more relaxed. "And you? Aren't you afraid of them finding out?"

"That I'm a lesbian?"

"…Yes."

Lana paused for a moment, "Listen to me, Ms. Dylan. I've been hiding who I am for a lifetime and after a lifetime, you grow tired of hiding." She stepped closer to Rachel, placing a finger under her chin, "And I'm growing very tired of most things in my life." She pressed her lips against Rachel's.


End file.
